New York expanded its half-price transit program this month, opening it to 340,000 more residents. If you live in Chicagoland, here’s the part the coverage skipped: this region already runs a version of that program — it covers every Metra line in six counties — and it’s currently scheduled to run through December 31, 2026. If your household gets SNAP benefits and you ride Metra at full price, you are leaving money on the table right now.
What New York actually did
New York’s Fair Fares program raised its eligibility line from 150% to 200% of the federal poverty level — roughly $32,000 for an individual or $66,000 for a family of four — adding about $54 million to the program and making around 1.3 million New Yorkers eligible for half-price rides, with estimated savings of about $910 a year per rider. Writing in Commercial Observer, affordable-housing advocate Carlina Rivera framed the expansion as housing policy, not just transit policy: “A home is not truly affordable if its residents cannot afford to leave it.”
That framing is the useful idea for anyone weighing where to live in Chicagoland: the commute is part of the housing payment. A cheaper home with an expensive ride to work can cost more per month than the pricier home near a discounted train.
Chicagoland quietly built its own version
In January 2021, Cook County’s Fair Transit South Cook pilot cut fares by up to 50% on the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines serving the South Side and south suburbs. The county’s second-year report found those two lines recovered ridership faster than the rest of the Metra system, with gains concentrated in lower-income fare zones and most trips taken for work.
In February 2024, the pilot gave way to something bigger: it became the Access Program, which extends reduced fares to SNAP recipients on every Metra line across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties — geographically, a bigger footprint than New York’s program.
Who qualifies for reduced fares right now
SNAP recipients (Metra): anyone receiving SNAP benefits in the six RTA counties can get an Access permit for reduced-fare Metra tickets. Apply at GetAccess.org, by phone at 312-913-3110, or at one of 62 in-person registration sites.
Seniors 65+ and riders with disabilities (CTA, Metra, and Pace): the RTA’s Reduced Fare program covers all three systems, and lower-income seniors and riders with disabilities may qualify to ride free through the state’s Benefit Access program.
Neither program applies automatically — each requires a permit, and the agencies’ own pages linked above are the authoritative word on eligibility and enrollment.
The December 31 question
Here’s the part worth watching. The Access Program was scheduled to end in January 2026. In December 2025, the RTA extended it through December 31, 2026, citing two things: continued Cook County funding, and the new NITA Act — the law reorganizing CTA, Metra, and Pace under the Northern Illinois Transit Authority with an estimated $1.2 billion in new annual operating money.
That sets up an early fare-policy question for the reorganized system: make reduced fares for low-income riders permanent, expand them New York-style, or let the pilot lapse at year-end. New York — whose Fair Fares program has been running since 2019 and covers subways and buses citywide — just made its bet. Whether Chicagoland’s program continues past December 31 is a question for the new transit authority and Cook County to answer.
Sources & data
- Regional Transportation Authority — Access Program extension through Dec 31, 2026, and NITA Act funding context (Dec 17, 2025)
- Cook County — Fair Transit South Cook pilot design and second-year ridership findings
- Commercial Observer — Carlina Rivera (op-ed) on New York’s Fair Fares expansion (July 15, 2026)
- Streetsblog Chicago — Access Program launch (Feb 2024)
Program details verified against the agency pages above as of July 16, 2026. Eligibility rules can change — confirm with the RTA before making plans. Spot an error? Corrections come first.