STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Anyone who’s commuted to school in New York City knows the value of a student MetroCard.
The full-fare MetroCards, issued by schools to students who live at least half a mile from campus and aren’t eligible for school bus service, allow students to travel to and from school and extracurricular activities free-of-charge.
The MetroCards offer students three, free trips per day between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.
But as nearly 1 million New York City public school students returned to their classrooms for the first day of school on Monday, not all eligible students received their free transit pass, according to a Chalkbeat report.
Instead, some students were given a form signed by the Office of Pupil Transportation, stating that the student is eligible for a student MetroCard, but has not yet received one, and should be allowed to freely ride the city’s buses and subways until he or she receives a card, according to the report.
“This student is eligible for a student MetroCard but has not received it due to inventory issues,” the form said. “Please allow this student to ride the subway and/or bus.”
Councilman Mark Treyger, chair of the City Council’s Education Committee, told Chalkbeat he’s heard from numerous high school principals who have not yet received their student MetroCards and are concerned that their students may be stopped for fare evasion if they are forced to jump a subway turnstile because no station staffers are on hand to allow them through once they show their form.
“A good number of high schools did not get MetroCard deliveries, and one of the principals, when she contacted central asking where they are, one of the answers she got… was that there was, like, a shipment issue and they were going to be shipped to schools within a week,” Treyger said. “She said, ‘You are setting my kids up for a nightmare scenario.’”
But a representative from the Department of Education (DOE) reassured Chalkbeat that MTA and NYPD officials are “always” made aware that students may be traveling with a form in lieu of a student MetroCard and that those who present the form would not be cited for fare evasion.
“Eligible students without their MetroCard this week were provided a standard letter to get to and from school without paying out of pocket. As a precaution, all principals have access to it for their eligible student, and we worked with our agency partners so it’s accepted by the NYPD and MTA,” DOE spokeswoman Katie O’Hanlon told Chalkbeat.
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