Fair Rates helped me survive, it’s time to expand them

I’ve lived in Brooklyn and now the Bronx for over a decade, and in all that time there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: how hard it is to get around the city when you’re poor. Buses are slow, trains are late, and when a person has to decide between feeding their children or paying for the fare, public transportation becomes a daily stress and not a public good. In 2015, there were days when I walked with my young daughters from 149th Street to 169th and Grand Concourse because I didn’t have the money to pay the fare. I lost a lot of weight from walking everywhere. It doesn’t matter if it rains, snows or is intensely hot, when you don’t have money you do what you have to do to survive. Sometimes I had $10 and had to choose between two bus tickets, or a slice of hot pizza for my hungry daughters. Many times we bypassed the turnstile. I got caught once in Manhattan and fined. It was very humiliating. But I told the police the truth; which I didn’t pay because I didn’t have money. That honesty cost me a $100 fine.

Things got a little better when I qualified for the Fair Rates program. This little orange card saved me. Now I can put in $20 and use it without panic. I can take my daughters to therapy, go to my doctor’s appointments, or simply buy food without having to think about every dollar. Fair Rates is not a luxury, it is a lifesaver. Unfortunately, not everyone who needs it qualifies. The health assistant who cares for my daughter with autism, Ms. Odette, works two jobs and still cannot afford the fare. She does not have Medicaid, nor does she qualify for Fair Rates, and sometimes waits for the Bx30 in the cold until midnight after a long day. That’s why Fair Rates should be expanded to 200% of the federal poverty line. Too many working-class, immigrant, and Latino New Yorkers continue to be excluded. This expansion would make eligible to more than 415,00 additional New Yorkers.

Many of our neighbors are completely unaware of the program. It’s the city’s fault. It’s HRA’s fault. And it’s the fault of our local officials. No effort has been made to reach out to Latino communities. Most people I talk to, neighbors and even parents at my daughters’ school, have never heard of Fair Fees. This is unacceptable in a city where so many of us depend on public transportation daily to survive. We need more ads and promotions in Spanish. We need community outreach in churches, schools and food banks. We need elected officials and municipal agencies to give this program the importance it deserves. The city can’t blame people for not signing up for the program when they haven’t even heard of it. That’s not only bad policy, it’s ignoring our communities.

The Bronx is often forgotten. We are tired of being left behind, Fair Rates gave me back my dignity. We must give that opportunity to more New Yorkers.

Norma Ginez is a member of Riders Alliance