NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) delivers remarks on a new subway OMNY program for students.
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NewsTranscript
00:02Thanks so much, Gianno and the team here at Transit Tech.
00:06This is such an important school because when you look at the turnover in transit-related
00:12jobs, we need to have the pipeline to ensure that our children are on track to successful
00:21good-paying jobs and make sure our trains stay running on time.
00:26As you see, the transit system has continued to evolve and improve, not only in the delivery
00:31of service, but as Gianno and I partnered with the governor, we have been able to really
00:37tackle something that has impacted New Yorkers, and that is public safety on our transit system.
00:44When you really actualize that robberies are at the lowest level since we have started
00:51recording the robberies in our transit system, we see a steady decrease in crime after a
00:57slight uptick in January.
00:59We've witnessed how a collaboration between the governor, the MTA, and the NYPD hats off
01:06to all that are involved.
01:08But how do we maintain not only to have trains run on time, but our young people to get to
01:14and from their place of employment, their place of business?
01:18How do we get it on time?
01:20These are tough economic times.
01:21It's challenging for families to come up with the dollars that are needed to move around
01:26this city.
01:27When you put a focus group together that includes young people, you can get real feedback on
01:35what can prevent the fare evasion, what can prevent the challenges of moving forward.
01:40That is what the announcement means today.
01:42This is a long way from the token, and technology allows us to improve on how our young people
01:50can move through the city.
01:51And these are real dollars.
01:53Over the 12 weeks through the summer, you can save up to almost close to $1,000.
02:01During the school year, it's about $20 a week due to MAP, that's $80 a month.
02:08That is a significant amount of money when you're talking about collecting, how you're
02:13going to pay for lunch money, how you're going to get the basic things that a family needs.
02:19So we have an obligation in government to find ways to put money back into the pockets
02:26of everyday New Yorkers, and that is what we're doing.
02:30When you are a student, you have to use your MetroCard, your OmniCard to pick up your siblings.
02:37You have to use your OmniCard to go to maybe an appointment somewhere, a medical appointment,
02:43or go to the library in your community.
02:46So this OmniCard plays a significant role, and it plays a significant role for family members.
02:51So it's exciting to us, this new OmniCard, 365 days of the year that they can be used,
03:0124 hours, a real huge win for all those who are going to receive this.
03:07And it's imperative, every dollar you don't have to swipe, or what is this, touch now?
03:14You don't swipe anymore, right?
03:15Tap?
03:16Tap?
03:17Tap?
03:18Every dollar you use to tap is a dollar that won't be tapped out of your pockets.
03:25And so we want to partner, and we want to really continue the things we're doing.
03:30We have both the Assembly and the City Council here.
03:33Can I say enough about the partnership with the City Council when we were able to expand
03:39fare fares for New York City, for half-price subway and bus fares, huge, huge saving for
03:47low-income New Yorkers.
03:48And we also, this is why we budget $11 million for free MetroCards for summer youth employment.
03:54It's all part of the operation.
03:56And expanding our greenways, it's getting around the city.
03:59Expanding our greenways, allow those that have exercise and use our bikes and walk to
04:03get to where we're going in the city.
04:06Really great announcement.
04:07Great school.
04:08When you think about what happens when our young people who leave here, they go on to
04:13be gainfully employed in an amazing industry.
04:18We look at the head of the system now.
04:20He was just stating, he started out digging ditches.
04:23Now he's running a massive subway system.
04:27And so right here is the next leader of the MTA and transit system coming through the
04:33pipeline that we have encouraged.
04:35So again, General, thank you.
04:36We spent so much time together these last few months doing some good stuff.
04:40Yeah.
04:41And we're, and yeah, way to go.
04:46And the mayor always, the mayor said it all, and he always looks calm, cool, and collected
04:52even on a hot day.
04:54And I'm jealous about that.
04:56Listen, you may have been an amazing partner to MTA from day one.
05:01And what you said about safety is true and it ought to be conveyed regularly to New Yorkers.
05:08Transit, subway crime is dramatically down this year.
05:12And it is a huge story that we're not going to stop talking about.
05:16We are, we had another great week last week, 20% down last week.
05:20We are now, oh, thank you.
05:24You know, I should take the, I should take the suggestion, not wear a jacket.
05:28There you go.
05:29Listen, subway crime down last week, again, 20%, 8% down for the year.
05:35You said it all mayor, but even more important, 12% down versus pre-COVID.
05:39Don't let the tabloid media or some of the other folks tell you that the subway is a
05:44dystopian hellscape.
05:46It is among the success stories under your administration.
05:49I also got to thank Governor Hochul, who is helping to fund this New York City school
05:55Omnicard program through the state.
05:58She's been a great supporter of what we're doing on all fronts.
06:01And I got to say thanks as well.
06:03Listen, as I said, you're going to have, as a new student Omnicard comes into play, you're
06:06going to have the flexibility to go anywhere all the time and to take advantage of everything
06:11that this city has to offer.
06:14The transition to Omni is underway.
06:16We have not set a date when we're going to phase MetroCard out entirely.
06:20That date will be coming.
06:22And part of the reason that we're confident of that is we passed 50% for the first time
06:28just recently.
06:2950% of all the users of subway are actually using Omni.
06:33All the users of bus and subway are using Omni.
06:35So that is a huge milestone and 1.7 billion total taps already.
06:42We've already launched pilots for selected paratransit customers, the pre-tax commuter
06:48benefits, those pre-tax value transit cards that people receive for their jobs.
06:55Fairfares, Mayor talked about it, our fairfares, our 50% cost reduction customers, the low-income
07:04folks are getting Omni.
07:07And there's just a wider rollout underway.
07:10So we are making tremendous progress.
07:12Shout out to the MTA team who is making this all happen.
07:15This is very complicated.
07:19We saw the incredible work of a great technology team last week at the city when we talked
07:25about that outage and how the city's services have resisted it.
07:29Same with the MTA.
07:31And the Omni team is part of that leadership structure.
07:35Jesse Lazarus, Amy Linden, Tim Kaiser, many others.
07:40So with that, I'm going to stop yammering and turn it over to folks who have important
07:46things to say, namely the students who are here at Transit Tech, Malik Innis and Subha
07:51Habib.
07:52Let's hear from them.
07:57So I believe the Omni cards would benefit me in all aspects, specifically when it comes
08:05to traveling on the weekends.
08:07I'm a student athlete.
08:09So we have games on Sundays and Saturdays, and not having the ability to travel for free,
08:18it kind of hurts sometimes, because as a full-time student, I don't always have the ability to
08:23participate in internships and work.
08:26But when I do have the opportunity to work in internships, I have to travel all over
08:31the place, and I don't have the opportunity to travel on the bus and on the train, because
08:39the MetroCards are only available from 530 to 830.
08:44So using an Omni card would give me the ability to tap and go.
08:49It will be more efficient, and I will be able to make my Sunday football games.
08:54And also when it comes to traveling in the city, I have to transfer from the bus to the
08:59train, back to the train, to the bus, and only having the ability to use the card three
09:03times is just not enough.
09:06That one extra time would get me that last trip to get home.
09:11I also think it would, well, for me, it's important because it's more sanitary.
09:16Just to tap and go and to catch that A train is very important, and you got to get to work
09:20on time.
09:22And also the MetroCards, I have to swipe it two and three times.
09:25It just doesn't register.
09:26The tap and go, I know for sure it will work, and I just feel like it will be better for
09:32a full-time student like me.
09:42Hi, my name is Suba Habib.
09:45I'm also a student at Transit Tech, CTE High School.
09:49I feel like the Omni card is actually very beneficial for us high school students who
09:54do more than just high school outside of high school hours.
09:58We are students, we are daughters, we are sons, and we have a lot to attend to.
10:04I, myself, I am also a student athlete.
10:08I run track, and getting to our track meets on Saturdays and going to track on the days
10:17that out of the MetroCard restriction is very important, and we're not able to do that with
10:23the regular MetroCard, but with the OmniCard, it's time efficient, cost efficient, and it
10:28really helps us students travel from place to place.
10:32And if New York is a city that never sleeps, then why should the MetroCard be limited to
10:38time hours?
10:39It should always be like a 24-hour thing where students can really go to our extracurriculars,
10:46go to all these programs to really help our college apps.
10:51I, myself, am a part of this program called SEO.
10:55It's an eight-year program that takes us to and through to college, and it's a program
11:00where I attend twice a week in the school year and six weeks in the summer.
11:07And so with that MetroCard, I don't have the convenience of getting there in the summer.
11:15But with the OmniCard, I would be able to go there all the 365 days of the school year,
11:22so I don't have to pay out-of-pocket to get from place to place, and I feel like that
11:26is very beneficial to us as students to really flourish and not have to worry about costs
11:39because I'm pretty sure we have a lot to worry about already, and that's like the least of
11:44our worries right now.
11:46You know?
11:47Yeah.
11:48Wow.
11:49Wow.
11:50Look out, world.
11:51Malik and Subha are coming.
11:52These are amazing, amazing kids, and we're just proud to have them be part of the story
12:03of what we're trying to do to support New York City school students.
12:07Now we want to hear from a couple of elected officials who have been really active in this
12:11area, and first, Harvey Epstein from the New York State Assembly.
12:15Harvey?
12:17Great.
12:18I want to thank General Lieber and the mayor for having this day.
12:24This is something that, from my neighborhood, it's been a long time coming.
12:28In 2019, my youth council started talking about the problems with MetroCards.
12:33First we grappled with the half-fare MetroCard, and if people remember in 2019, about 130,000
12:41New York City students had a half-fare card, which meant they had to pay $1.35 in change
12:47twice a day to get to and from school if they lived within two miles from school.
12:51Luckily, back then, we were able to change that for 130,000 people, and then in 2022,
12:57the youth council did a report that talked about they studied over 1,000 people, 1,000
13:03students, and they said 70% of the students needed the card after 8.30 p.m. and before
13:095.30 a.m. and needed four swipes and needed the weekend.
13:13We were able to get a MetroCard right pamphlet, but Tay is really instrumental.
13:17This change is going to help hundreds of thousands of our young people, make sure they can go
13:23to a program, get involved in a sports activity, talk about maybe talking about an internship
13:30over the summer.
13:32The cost has been prohibitive to so many New Yorkers, and we heard, really, from Malik
13:36and Subhadra how it impacted them.
13:39Think about that for every New York City public high school student who wants to have a strong
13:43resume to get into a college, to be able to do something professionally.
13:47This change will be instrumental.
13:49Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, four swipes is going to be game-changing for
13:54our students.
13:55It's going to be game-changing for the city.
13:58So this is really what we're talking about.
14:00Now students can do the sports, can do the internship, can make a difference, and I want
14:04to thank you all for your leadership.
14:05I want to thank the Department of Education and Councilwoman Brooks-Powers for her leadership,
14:11because we are here today because everyone came together because we know it was going
14:14to better all the students in New York City.
14:19Thank you, Assemblymember.
14:20You've been working on this issue a long time, so this is a special milestone.
14:27Councilmember Selvina Brooks-Powers, Chairman of Transportation in the Council.
14:33Thank you, and good morning.
14:37I believe deeply in transportation as a public good and in the right of every single New
14:44Yorker to access it.
14:46It is for this reason that I am excited to be here today with Mayor Adams, MTA Chair
14:52Janel Lieber, my colleague in the Assembly, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, and our exceptional
14:58students here celebrating the launch of the student OmniCars.
15:03But first, I want to just acknowledge how impressed I am by these young people.
15:08And as a former athlete, I have to say, transit used to have a really dope track team.
15:13I'm not sure what it looks like right now, but I ran for Washington Irvine, and it was
15:18a lot of competition back then.
15:21And I'm in a unique place where I think I can really speak to the evolution of transportation
15:26as a student, where I remember—I'm old enough to remember the token, as well as the
15:32paper travel cards that we used to get on the bus, but I also remember having to take
15:38a MetroCard as well, and the limitations that it had.
15:42It was great to get us to where we needed to go as someone coming from Southeast Queens,
15:45going all the way into Manhattan to go to school.
15:49It is something that bridged a gap for many of my classmates and myself, but thanks to
15:55this new program, New York City students can access up to four free rides a day on our
16:01subway—subways, buses, and rail using one card throughout the year.
16:07And the city will distribute free OmniCards instead of MetroCards to our 1.1 million public
16:14school students for this upcoming school year, moving us one step closer to contactless free
16:20trip benefits for eligible students.
16:23For students who live half a mile or more from their school building, these free rides
16:28are absolutely essential.
16:30With more than three-quarters of regular fare customers already using Omni on our buses
16:35and subways, I'm excited that we're bringing this successful program to our schools.
16:41All New Yorkers deserve reliable, high-quality transit options that, at rates, everyone can
16:47afford.
16:48And following a budget in which we were able to secure additional funding for the expansion
16:53of fare fares, we will continue to fight to make our transportation systems more equitable
16:59for all.
17:00Thank you to Mayor Adams and to Chair Lieber for making this exciting initiative a reality.
17:06I look forward to working with you to make the city's transit more affordable and accessible
17:11for our students and for all of New York City.
17:14Thank you so much.
17:15Okay, because there's always a few acknowledgments that I botch, so I'm going to fix that right
17:23now.
17:24One is, the guy who runs New York City Transit right now is an amazing, amazing transit leader
17:30who's been a source of inspiration to many here at Transit Tech, Demetrius Critchlow.
17:34So thank you for all you do, among other things, giving us the best subway service in 12 years.
17:40And the reason our customers are happier than they used to be is not just because service
17:45is running well, but also because we have a great customer service operation, and Shanifa
17:49Riara runs that.
17:51So thank you, Shanifa, for everything that you do.
17:54And Anthony Diggs is here with us as well, is another student at Transit Tech who is
17:59a transit enthusiast and user, and we're thrilled that you are able to join as well.
18:04So with that, Mayor, may we take some Q&A?
18:07Sounds like a plan.
18:08All right.
18:09Let's have at it.
18:11All right.
18:12Let's start right over here with Mary Lynn Buckley from 1010 Winds, 92.3 FM, CBS 880,
18:17odyssey.com.
18:18Go ahead.
18:19You got it all.
18:20All right.
18:21Just in terms of these student Omnicards, is there going to be a way for the students
18:24to transfer them onto their phones?
18:26And when do they go into effect?
18:27Is it going to be this summer for the summer school students or come September?
18:33We are in the process of the next school year, we're going to have the ability to have it
18:38all be done on the phones because the one thing we know is students do lose Metro cards.
18:45We know that because they come back and ask for substitute ones.
18:48We hope that they will not lose their Omnicard because we're not requiring them to have all
18:54different kinds of cards, but one thing they don't lose, their phone.
18:58So we do need to transition that.
19:01So a year from now, we're anticipating it will be on the phone, but this is the phase
19:06in to get used to the Omni system.
19:08All right.
19:09Let's go to Julia Joseph here from News 12 Brooklyn.
19:12Julia.
19:14Hi.
19:15I have one question for you, Mayor Adams.
19:18The first is you talked about fare evasion and the correlation between that and crime,
19:23which we've been talking about since January.
19:26Would you speak more on that and how that relates to the students if you've seen a correlation
19:29between students and transit crime?
19:32You know, actually, we learned that from back in the days with Bill Bratton, where we saw
19:37a connectivity between those who were not paying their fare and going on to the system
19:43and committing crimes.
19:44And a lot of the individuals who we found later now that have carried out violent crimes
19:52in the subway system, when we go back to track who they are, we notice that they did not
19:56pay their fare.
19:57The fare evasion on a whole shows a disproportionate number of people who don't pay their fare
20:04and commit crimes.
20:05I think when it comes down to students, they're doing it out of necessity.
20:10They are trying to get to school.
20:12They're trying to pick up their niece, their nephew, their sibling, and they just don't
20:16have the money to do so.
20:18And we are attempting to make it easier to not to have these young people have a record
20:23because they're trying to carry out an activity that they must do as part of their daily interaction,
20:31as the two students stated, being in sports, being an athlete, having to get to and from
20:37practice and other things, and on the weekends are important.
20:40So this is more a preventive step so that we don't have our young people have to jump
20:47to turnstile, so they can't do the things that they need to do, and this is a way to
20:52do it.
20:53All right.
20:54Joe, you had one more?
20:56Yes.
20:57Last question.
20:58Would you guys just be able to brief over the restrictions, if there are any, for these
21:00Omnicards?
21:01I don't think there are.
21:05I think the restriction, there really aren't restrictions.
21:08That's what's different.
21:10It's 24-7, 365, no more hourly restrictions, no more restrictions that you can't use it
21:16on the weekends, and no more restrictions that you can't use it out of the school year.
21:21You can use it in the summer when school is out.
21:23You can use it in the middle of the night or coming home from a game or another activity.
21:30It is about flexibility.
21:32That's the difference.
21:33No restrictions.
21:34Sorry.
21:35Restrictions meaning, like, where a student lives, if that has to do with it, how much
21:39money their family is making, or any student in New York City can get this.
21:43Well, the school system does apply some restrictions on, you know, if you live right next door
21:49to the school, they're not giving out free transit passes.
21:52So those are administered by the school, and that's been in effect for some time.
21:57But for most kids, this is going to be a game changer.
22:00All right.
22:01Anything else on topic?
22:02I know there's a couple off-topic questions.
22:05On topic that hasn't been asked already?
22:08Yeah.
22:09All right.
22:10Jack Moffitt from The Post.
22:11Jack.
22:12Thanks.
22:13Can 3K and pre-K children get these Omnicards?
22:14I don't know.
22:15What's the age?
22:17Do we know that?
22:22Yeah.
22:24I don't think the little kids are getting them, in part because there is—the system
22:30already permits little kids to ride for free.
22:33All right.
22:35Off topic.