In September 2026, City Council Speaker Julie Menin officially launched a new pilot program to provide free, unlimited OMNY cards to CUNY students. The city’s FY27 budget allocated $700,000 for the pilot, which will include 700 CUNY students in its initial cohort. 

This initiative is a critical step towards boosting upward mobility for New Yorkers—and one that CUF urged city leaders to take in more than a half dozen policy reports and op-eds going back nearly a decade. 

Our research has repeatedly found that expenses beyond tuition—transportation, childcare, technology, lost wages, and other everyday costs—make it much harder for New Yorkers to earn a degree or complete a career training program. In February 2026, CUF testified before the City Council, calling for free OMNY cards for CUNY students, and in the same month elevated the idea in our report on how the Mamdani administration can strengthen workforce development. Our June 2021 report documenting the nontuition financial barriers for low-income college students found that approximately 90% of CUNY community college students commute to school primarily via public transit. 

This pilot will do more than just help students cut costs; it will help more students persist through college, earn a credential, and springboard to the middle class.

CUF commends the CUNY student leaders and advocates who pushed this forward, and Mayor Mamdani, the City Council, Speaker Julie Menin, and Council Member Rita Joseph. 

This impact builds on other CUF publications, including “The City Should Provide Free MetroCards to CUNY Students,” “Upward mobility starts underground: Give community college students free MetroCards,” “NYC Should Fund Community College MetroCards,” and The High Cost of Free Job Training in NYC.