{"id":6614,"date":"2024-10-25T10:09:51","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T14:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/?p=6614"},"modified":"2024-10-25T10:45:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T14:45:01","slug":"new-mta-omny-perks-still-do-not-include-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/2024\/10\/new-mta-omny-perks-still-do-not-include-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"New MTA OMNY Perks Still Don’t Include College Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

The little ribbon screens inside the subway carts flash every other instance with various images. Sometimes they display some subway etiquette tips for riders, such as \u201cSeats are for butts not bags,\u201d \u201cWatch your bag\u201d or \u201cThrow it [one\u2019s trash] out before it gets ugly.\u201d Other times, the screens show advertisements for different products.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A digital screen at Queensboro Plaza station introducing the new OMNY cards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The vertical screens on the subway platforms show similar images. They alternate between collaborations of poets and artists for the MTA\u2019s \u201cPoetry in Motion\u201d series, reminders by the MTA and the NYPD that fares are \u201crequired to ride\u201d and that \u201cMTA fare inspectors and the NYPD are enforcing fare payment,\u201d or even suggestions by the New York Presbyterian advising New Yorkers to lower their screen time for a boost in mental health.<\/p>\n

One announcement, in particular, introduces a new method for paying the MTA fare with vibrant graphics: the OMNY card. This colorful image then fades into a black screen with the NYC Public Schools logo and the names of Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor David C. Banks underneath.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A digital screen at Queensboro Plaza station supplying more information on the new OMNY cards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the past, eligible NYC public school students in grades K-12 were given a full or half-fare MetroCard for their commute. This academic year, the student MetroCard was replaced with the student OMNY card. This new, small, green paper card embedded with a chip offers students new perks\u2014 four free rides for all days, including weekends, and at all hours. This card is valid for students from the beginning of the school year (in September) through the end of the summer.<\/p>\n

Though the MTA has future plans to completely phase out the MetroCard by 2025 by slowly implementing OMNY cards, transportation accessibility for college students does not seem to be in those plans yet.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The new student OMNY card.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hunter student Evelyn Morales believes that making OMNY cards available to college students would be \u201cvery helpful since a lot of college students have to work and have to make a living on top of going to class.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to their website<\/a>, Hunter College tuition is $6,930 per year for full-time, in-state students and $18,600 per year or $620 per credit for full-time, out-of-state residents. This amount, however, does not take into account the additional textbook and material fees, and transportation costs students need to pay.<\/p>\n

Morales is a freshman psychology student who spends time on campus five days a week. For three of those days, she has big gaps in her schedule which she spends in the library. She commutes to Hunter via the subway and estimates that she spends about $29 on a MetroCard weekly.<\/p>\n

The student OMNY cards are being funded in part by the state and in part by the city (New York City Public Schools, the Department of Transportation<\/a>).<\/p>\n

According to the website of Professional Staff Congress (PSC-CUNY)<\/a>, a union that advocates for a New Deal for CUNY, in which CUNY is fully funded, CUNY\u2019s funds also come from the state and city, as well as from some federal grants.<\/p>\n

Vadim Berdov is a senior human biology student who spends two days a week on campus for around five to six hours a day. Berdov says \u201cWhen I have a gap I spend time in the north building on the first floor or outside.\u201d Like Morales, he also primarily uses the subway to get to Hunter and estimates spending around $30 – $40 on a Metrocard that he uses for about one and a half to two weeks.<\/p>\n

The MTA Press Office was contacted for a response regarding the accessibility of the OMNY cards for college students but The Athenian was unable to receive a response because they do not accommodate inquiries for student publications.<\/p>\n

Ariadna Silva and Daphne Illescas are two members of NYPIRG, a non-profit student advocacy organization at Hunter.<\/p>\n

Silva notes that \u201ca lot of CUNY students come from public NYC schools\u201d and thus have the experience of receiving a school Metrocard in high school. When entering college, many of these students face an \u201cadded financial burden\u201d in paying their commute costs, on top of tuition, textbook fees, homework access codes, and materials. Silva says, \u201cI don\u2019t think students should be having to consider \u2018Should I pay my fare or go hungry?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Illescas also adds that having free MetroCards provided high school students \u201ca way to get an education and try to build [their] life\u201d but that here, in college, the situation is not the same. She asks, \u201cIf you could barely afford tuition how are you going to afford your way here?\u201d<\/p>\n

NYPIRG\u2019s two current campaigns regarding student fares are the New Deal for CUNY
\nand the Straphangers Campaign, according to Silva. A fully funded CUNY would allow for expanding student resources, such as having more advisors or having free MetroCards\/OMNY cards. Within the Straphangers Campaign, they are fighting to expand who can qualify for reduced fares so that it includes CUNY students too.<\/p>\n

Illescas suggests students get involved \u201cand getting involved in NYPIRG is simply just attending a meeting, signing one of our info cards.\u201d The NYPIRG meetings take place on Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m. in W215.<\/p>\n

Silva agrees and notes the successes NYPIRG has had so far (increased TAP funding, for example) and future advances are \u201conly possible because students come and show up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many NYC K-12 public school students are receiving new OMNY cards. Many commuter students, like those at Hunter College, hope for similar support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":6618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6614"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6629,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6614\/revisions\/6629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}