MANHATTAN — New York students could soon get their free or low-cost MetroCards restored, the governor hinted over the weekend.
Gov. David Paterson said during a Sunday radio interview that Albany will do everything it can to fund the longstanding program despite a vote to kill the subsidy by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last month, the Daily News reported.
"The revenues are making me feel that we will be able to eliminate the charge on the MetroCards," Paterson reportedly told 98.7 KISS FM. "Within the next two weeks, I'll have a positive announcement."
The program reportedly serves hundreds of thousands of city students at a cost of approximately $160 million.
The announcement comes as a sharp reversal for the governor, who initially claimed he had no power to intervene in the cuts.
Albany came under incredible pressure after threatening to slash the program — including from close to 100,000 members who signed up for the Facebook group, “Protest the MTA getting rid of Student MetroCards.”
The group was created by a pair of NYC public school students, and has spawned protest rallies at MTA headquarters with the help of the nonprofit Straphangers Campaign.
