*Some* Students Get a Break
Another apparent double standard in transit service has cropped up as the Mayor's office and the City Council confirmed a plan to subsidize transit passes for certain students in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. $13.8 million will be allocated to pay for half-fare student passes on four private bus lines in Queens and one in Brooklyn; and $1.2 million will provide free rides to school via Staten Island Rapid Transit. The other 340,000+ students who ride public bus lines and the subways haven't fared so well, as the state and city canceled payments to the NYCT covering school travel costs. The reasoning given by Mayor's office was that the NYCT could pay for student passes itself. Meanwhile, City DOT said the private lines needed the city subsidy in order to maintain a ridership level that would secure state and federal subsidies. This, while many public NYCT bus lines are facing service cutbacks because of low ridership figures--numbers which do not include student riders. The announcement was made more ironic by the presence of op-ed pieces on education written by the Mayor in at least two newspapers, wherein one he lamented his lack of control over the Board of Ed budget, while at the same time being "held accountable for the school system." Daily News.
