Assembly Bill A10859

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10859
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               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:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "ride N.Y. act".
   §  2.  Legislative  findings and statement of purpose. The legislature
 finds, determines and declares:
   (a) New York's transit authorities and  providers  play  an  essential
 role  in  providing  access  to  professional, medical, and recreational
 opportunities across New York State - particularly for senior, disabled,
 Medicare-eligible, and low-income New Yorkers. These essential  services
 provide  mobility to our most vulnerable, provide badly needed financial
 relief as our state is in the throes of  an  affordability  crisis,  and
 help make New York's per-capita fossil fuel emissions some of the lowest
 in the United States.
   (b)  A  public policy purpose would be served and the interests of the
 people of the  state,  both  transit  riders  and  taxpayers,  would  be
 advanced  by  working  to implement contactless fare payment, centralize
 and automate customer discounts (such as those offered  to  elderly  New
 Yorkers), and standardize travel information with real-time data.
   § 3. The New York State Department of Transportation is hereby author-
 ized and directed to conduct an integrated travel project in tandem with
 the  Office  of General Services, Department of Motor Vehicles, regional
 transportation authorities listed under article 5 of the public authori-
 ties law, and county-run public transit providers:
   1. Such integrated travel project  shall  address  no  less  than  the
 following issues:
   (a) the need to launch a statewide procurement process to purchase the
 key  hardware  and  software  needed  to  accept contactless payments on
 public transit;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15301-01-6
              

 A. 10859                            2
 
   (b) streamlining the process for transit riders to  instantly  qualify
 for  and  receive  discounts, in particular seniors, youth, lower-income
 riders, veterans, people with disabilities, by creating a  single  bene-
 fits web application;
   (c)  developing New York transit data guidelines to allow every public
 transit provider in New York State to access the  General  Transit  Feed
 Specification  (GTFS),  ensuring statewide GTFS schedule/static coverage
 and GTFS Realtime;
   (d) making certain such work is based on similar projects launched  in
 other  states  such  as  California, Connecticut, and New Jersey, is not
 bespoke, and facilitates present or future fare payment integration with
 other states and provinces of Canada to the greatest extent possible, in
 particular Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  Ontario,
 Pennsylvania, Quebec, Vermont, and Washington D.C.;
   (e)  ensuring  full  and  immediate  integration  with the Connecticut
 Department  of  Transportation's  ongoing  integrated   travel   project
 conducted  by  the customer experience unit and NJ Transit's "FARE-PAY";
 and
   (f) permitting fare capping and incentives across providers.
   2. The New York State Department of Transportation shall  report  such
 findings  to  the  governor  and  the legislature within eighteen months
 after the effective date of this act and every November biennially ther-
 eafter.
   §  4. This act shall take effect immediately.