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Q&A
Questions about proposed MetroCard pilot program for CUNY students
1:20:37
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102 sec
Council Member Dinowitz asks Eli Dvorkin to elaborate on the proposed free MetroCard pilot program for CUNY students. Dvorkin explains the target audience and potential implementation of the program.
- The program would focus on Pell-eligible, low-income students not already served by existing MetroCard programs
- Many target students are in community colleges, part-time students, or adult learners
- Dvorkin recommends allocating MetroCards directly through CUNY to reduce barriers
- The council member notes the shift from MetroCards to OMNI cards, highlighting the need to update terminology
Eric Dinowitz
1:20:37
And then you also cite free MetroCard pilot for CUNY students.
1:20:44
Can you can you talk more about what you are proposing when you mean a pilot program?
1:22:01
Yeah.
1:22:02
You know, earlier I was talking about tokens.
1:22:04
Like, kids don't know what tokens are.
1:22:05
And you know what?
1:22:06
In, like, ten years, we're gonna still be saying Metro cards.
1:22:10
What the heck are you talking about?
1:22:11
What's a Metro card?
1:22:12
We're doing It's Omni.
1:22:15
be would be the way to go.
1:22:17
You old person.
Eli Dvorkin
1:20:48
Yeah.
1:20:48
Thanks for that, Chair.
1:20:49
So, I mean, I would say our recommendation, I think, would very much align with what I heard from vice chancellor Sarmiento, which is focusing on those students that are Pell eligible, low income students who aren't already served by a program that offers a MetroCard today.
1:21:03
I think that is the right target.
1:21:04
Many of those students, but certainly not all of them, are enrolled in community colleges.
1:21:08
Many of them are part time students.
1:21:10
Many of them are adult learners.
1:21:12
I mentioned the pilot only because I did see in the council's response budget this idea of funding specifically for a pilot just for Metro cards.
1:21:19
And I would just echo certainly, would say that's a fantastic idea.
1:21:22
Our research has shown time and again that a Metro card is a significant financial burden that derails students from completion.
1:21:29
But I would add that, you know, to echo our colleagues at CUNY, that enrolling in a program like Fair Fairs has shown to be a pretty challenging barrier.
1:21:39
You know, our recommendation has always been that the MetroCard would be directly allocated through CUNY so that students could get it more quickly, so that there's as little of a hoop to jump through as possible.
1:21:49
I mentioned a pilot because I certainly believe that that's, you know, a starting point that would help, but I think the maximum benefit absolutely would be a program targeted to low income students that would that would serve everybody that isn't in one of those those specialized programs today.
1:22:13
It would be yes.
1:22:14
It would be an Omni card would