Councilman: Why should anyone pay fare?

This city politician wants to turn the turnstile into a relic of the past.

Councilman Mark Treyger is calling on the MTA to make subways and buses free year-round.

“There is a real opportunity to reimagine mass transit in New York,” Treyger (D-Brooklyn) said, citing the recent departure of subway chief Andy Byford. “New York can take a big bite out of poverty, mass incarceration, income inequality and our impact on climate change.”

The MTA collected nearly $3.6 billion in subway fares last year, according to preliminary figures. The MTA collected another $937.5 million from bus fares. And this year the authority has budgeted for $4.6 billion in farebox revenue for subways, buses and paratransit services.

Treyger didn’t say specifically how the MTA could make up the revenue loss, but said the state should be able to find ways to cover the cost of free subway and bus fares in its nearly $180 billion budget.

“They have the resources to make it free,” he said.

The MTA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The councilman will introduce a nonbinding resolution calling for the fare elimination to the Council on Tuesday.

The resolution notes 97 cities and towns across the world already have “fully fare free public transit” and that the city’s Department of Transportation suspends alternate-side parking and allows cars to park for free on 36 holidays.

Treyger’s resolution also stresses that police patrolling subways and buses “penalize those who may be unable to afford the cost of riding,” citing 2018 NYPD data showing 90% of those arrested for fare evasion and 65% of those getting summonses are people of color.