Directs the New York State Department of Transportation to conduct an integrated travel project in tandem with the Office of General Services, Department of Motor Vehicles, regional transportation authorities and county-run public transit providers to address state-wide transportation needs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10859
IN ASSEMBLY
April 8, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. P. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Transportation
AN ACT in relation to enacting the "ride N.Y. act" ordering a New York
integrated travel project
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "ride N.Y. act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and statement of purpose. The legislature
4 finds, determines and declares:
5 (a) New York's transit authorities and providers play an essential
6 role in providing access to professional, medical, and recreational
7 opportunities across New York State - particularly for senior, disabled,
8 Medicare-eligible, and low-income New Yorkers. These essential services
9 provide mobility to our most vulnerable, provide badly needed financial
10 relief as our state is in the throes of an affordability crisis, and
11 help make New York's per-capita fossil fuel emissions some of the lowest
12 in the United States.
13 (b) A public policy purpose would be served and the interests of the
14 people of the state, both transit riders and taxpayers, would be
15 advanced by working to implement contactless fare payment, centralize
16 and automate customer discounts (such as those offered to elderly New
17 Yorkers), and standardize travel information with real-time data.
18 § 3. The New York State Department of Transportation is hereby author-
19 ized and directed to conduct an integrated travel project in tandem with
20 the Office of General Services, Department of Motor Vehicles, regional
21 transportation authorities listed under article 5 of the public authori-
22 ties law, and county-run public transit providers:
23 1. Such integrated travel project shall address no less than the
24 following issues:
25 (a) the need to launch a statewide procurement process to purchase the
26 key hardware and software needed to accept contactless payments on
27 public transit;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15301-01-6
A. 10859 2
1 (b) streamlining the process for transit riders to instantly qualify
2 for and receive discounts, in particular seniors, youth, lower-income
3 riders, veterans, people with disabilities, by creating a single bene-
4 fits web application;
5 (c) developing New York transit data guidelines to allow every public
6 transit provider in New York State to access the General Transit Feed
7 Specification (GTFS), ensuring statewide GTFS schedule/static coverage
8 and GTFS Realtime;
9 (d) making certain such work is based on similar projects launched in
10 other states such as California, Connecticut, and New Jersey, is not
11 bespoke, and facilitates present or future fare payment integration with
12 other states and provinces of Canada to the greatest extent possible, in
13 particular Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ontario,
14 Pennsylvania, Quebec, Vermont, and Washington D.C.;
15 (e) ensuring full and immediate integration with the Connecticut
16 Department of Transportation's ongoing integrated travel project
17 conducted by the customer experience unit and NJ Transit's "FARE-PAY";
18 and
19 (f) permitting fare capping and incentives across providers.
20 2. The New York State Department of Transportation shall report such
21 findings to the governor and the legislature within eighteen months
22 after the effective date of this act and every November biennially ther-
23 eafter.
24 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
