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Expanding Student

OMNY

Juniper Wang

LaGuardia HS

August Hoyt

Bard HS Early College

Charlie Hawn

Bronx Science

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OMNY cards given to all NYC students without eligibility limitations

Universal Access

Communication on Deactivations

Faster Card Replacement

Students able to explore without ride cap will help reduce encounters with police

Greater transparency between MTA, NYCPS schools, and students

Minimize supply chain issues to ensure students have a reliable way home; eliminate paper cards

Our Campaign Asks

Unlimited Rides

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Senators Hoylman-Sigal and Kavanagh, along with numerous supporters, have each authored letters to NYCPS and MTA regarding expanded eligibility.

Letters from Elected Officials

Previous Efforts

Initial CEC Resolutions

7 CECs (including CCHS) have already passed resolutions that address certain issues with student OMNY.

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  • Launched our petition in May 2025 - now 200+ signatures
  • Met With MTA
  • Met with PCAC
  • Contacted DOE Transportation Liaisons

Steps Taken So Far

Looking ahead

  • Supportive resolutions from more CECs to expand the reach of our campaign
  • Exploring school-level issues and advocating for digital rollout

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Universal Access

Any student living within a 0.5 mile radius from their school and yellow bus riders are not eligible for a Student OMNY card.

73.5%

NYC students are economically disadvantaged

Monetary value of Student OMNY card

Estimated cost of expanding eligibility

$4,380

$5.5M

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NYC is lagging behind

Several cities already offer unlimited free transit for students: DC, Denver, LA, and Honolulu being a few!

Fare-capping already exists!

With a traditional OMNY card, users don’t have to pay after 12 rides in a week.

We have places to be…

Limiting student travel to 4 trips a day doesn’t always cut it. We should be able to explore our city!

Unlimited Rides for all NYC students

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Reality:

students can be unexpectedly denied access due to deactivation.

Clear Communication before deactivation

Goal:

students get where they need to go!

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The current process of replacing OMNY cards is SLOW, a faster process is imperative!

A Faster and More Reliable Replacement Process

2+ weeks

for new cards to arrive at schools

Students’ cards are deactivated, lost, or buggy

Schools quickly run out of replacement cards with the number of students who need new cards

Students’ have to choose between paying out of pocket, the cost of which can add up, or fare evade, which creates confrontations with the police, in the 2 weeks they are waiting for a new card

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Pass an updated resolution that is more comprehensive regarding universal access, unlimited rides, communication before deactivation, and greater reliability with the replacement process.

1.

Push for updates to chancellor's regulation A-801 that address the issues and keep the policy current.

Spread our petition to other parents, students, and groups affected by the issues with student OMNY.

https://act.transalt.org/a/expand-student-omny

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What You Can Do

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THANK YOU

Any Questions?

youth@transalt.org

transalt.org/youth