S 8620: Authorizes and directs the MTA to conduct a study on a unified, single city fare zone in New York City and to report the findings of such study to the governor and the legislature.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8620 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE December 17, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT enacting the one city, one fare act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "one city, one fare act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and statement of purpose. The legislature 4 finds, determines and declares that: 5 (a) The MTA's three transit operating agencies, New York City Transit 6 ("NYCT"), the Long Island Rail Road ("LIRR"), and Metro-North, converge 7 in New York City, in particular at Grand Central Terminal, but fares 8 vary within city limits across the different modes of travel. 9 (b) Many parts of New York City that are in need of enhanced access to 10 the subway, such as Southeast Queens and the East Bronx, are served 11 by--or will be served by--the LIRR or Metro-North. However, high fares 12 on these services and a lack of joint railroad-NYCT ticket options make 13 intracity railroad travel prohibitively expensive. Taking the LIRR from 14 Rosedale to Atlantic Terminal takes a third of the time (36 minutes, 15 versus 1 hour, 32 minutes) but costs more than twice as much ($7.25 16 versus $3). A daily peak round-trip ticket between Kew Gardens and Ford- 17 ham consists of either two City Tickets or a one-way ticket and a Combo 18 Ticket add-on, costing $29 with no weekly or monthly option available, 19 nearly ten times as expensive as the subway. 20 (c) The MTA has already implemented a single CityTicket fare zone for 21 railroad tickets, but only for one railroad or the other. This option 22 has made New York City's railroad stations some of the only stations to 23 surpass pre-COVID ridership, some by as much as 224%, and saved New 24 Yorkers over $100 million according to Governor Hochul. This is clear 25 evidence of latent demand for enhanced intracity commuter rail options. 26 Unfortunately, the MTA has not expanded CityTicket despite continued EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14187-02-5 
 S. 8620 2 1 calls from elected officials, advocates and communities throughout the 2 city. 3 (d) The MTA has further declined to restore joint railroad-NYCT 4 options such as the Atlantic Ticket, which offered a weekly LIRR ticket 5 between Southeast Queens and Atlantic Terminal along with a weekly 6 unlimited subway pass for $60 until 2023. 7 (e) The legislature has repeatedly affirmed the necessity of providing 8 fare incentives to transit riders in the FY2025 and FY2026 One-House 9 Budget Resolutions and has acted previously to correct unrealized oppor- 10 tunities at the authority, such as the 2022 bicycle and pedestrian 11 access bill (S4943B/A6235B). 12 (f) A public policy purpose would be served and the interests of the 13 people of the state, in particular parts of The Bronx and Queens where 14 the subway does not reach, would be advanced by directing the Metropol- 15 itan Transportation Authority to develop and implement a field study of 16 a single, unified fare zone across New York City's railroads. Such a 17 field study would broaden the MTA's customer base in areas unserved by 18 the subway, ensuring equitable access to affordable transit for resi- 19 dents of subway deserts. 20 § 3. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is hereby authorized 21 and directed to conduct a study on a unified, single city fare zone 22 across the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North for all intracity 23 commuter rail options with free transfers to New York City Transit. 24 Such study shall last no less than two years. Following implementation 25 of such study, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall report 26 the findings to the governor and the legislature. 27 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.