Fair Fares NYC

Benefits Management System
Technology Product Owner
2018-2022

Fair Fares is a New York City mayoral initiative operated by the Department of Social Services (DSS). The program provides half-price fares on mass transit and paratransit to city residents for whom transit expenses may exceed 10 percent of their family budget.

The Fair Fares program required building an entirely new technology support system from the ground up. The system entails robust business rules, web-based tools for a variety of customer support scenarios, and integration with multiple city agencies and third-party vendors. See Fair Fares system diagram.

Technology development started in Q2 2018. The program launched to the public in Q1 2019. Major & minor version releases were planned and produced over the next two years. In 2022, the technology team and senior DSS stakeholders started plans to integrate the Fair Fares discount into OMNY, the new contactless payment system rolling out across New York City.

There are currently over 270,000 clients actively enrolled in Fair Fares. See media coverage.

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Benefits Management System

  • Provides full API support for customer-facing account management portal Access HRA
  • Identifies and imports pre-approved agency clients from primary DSS repository
  • Accepts client enrollment application submissions
  • Distributes MetroCards via third-party mail vendor Vanguard
  • Deactivates MetroCards reported Lost, Stolen, Damaged via New York City Transit
  • Enables Fair Fares discount for paratransit clients commuting via Access-A-Ride
  • Delivers SMS notifications to clients via technology vendor Avaya
  • Commits Fair Fares print communications & client documents to DSS documents archive
  • Provides program managers and customer service teams with tools to:
    • Review, assess, and process enrollment applications
    • Issue new and replacement MetroCards to clients
    • Report client MetroCards Lost, Stolen, Damaged
    • Switch clients between mass transit and paratransit
    • Generate a variety of operational reporting metrics
    • Override business rules to assist clients under exceptional circumstances
    • Validate monthly chargeback invoices from NYCT and AAR respectively
    • Process client request for a fair hearing (i.e., procedure to contest denial of benefits)
    • Manage staff access to web app (e.g., Add User, Suspend User, Configure User Roles)

Technology Product Owner

  • Managed ITS relationship with Fair Fares senior leadership
  • Managed ITS development team through new build cycles (team size: 12 to 15)
  • Managed ITS M&O team (team size: 4)
  • Coordinated with technology partners during new development and M&O phases
  • Developed planning materials to drive successful delivery of ITS solutions
  • Collaborated with senior leadership to secure funding for new-build initiatives (including OMNY)


Web Interfaces

Screenshots show Fair Fares portal on Access HRA and Fair Fares web app.

 Access HRA

Access HRA is a public-facing portal where users can create a Fair Fares account and Fair Fares clients can manage their membership.


 Dashboard

Fair Fares web app is a business-facing site where staff can process applications, assist clients, and obtain program performance metrics.


 Client Look-Up

Clients search is available through a variety of query values.


 Client Look-Up Results

Search results click through to client detail screen.


 Client Detail

Client detail screen provides profile data, enrollment history information, and customer support tools.

Note: Personal information fabricated.


 Client Application

Client applications, submitted via Access HRA, are assessed by Fair Fares case management staff.


 User Management

User account management tools enable administrators to Add Users, Suspend Users, and Define User Roles.

 


System Diagram

Diagram describes the array integration points required to support Fair Fares.

 Diagram

Diagram includes notation on each integration point respectively.

 
 

Media Coverage

Small selection of television news segments and print publications cover major Fair Fares milestones.

 NY PIX 11

02-15-22 | NYC Budget Will Include Dedicated Funding for Half-Price MetroCard Program


 CBS NY 2

12-20-19 | NYC Expanding Fair Fares Program


 NY ABC 7

01-05-19 | New York City Rolls Out Fair Fares Transit Program



 Gothamist

02-15-22 | NYC commits to $75 million in funding for Fair Fares discounted MetroCard program


 SI Live

11-04-21 | Fair Fares half-priced MetroCard program hits record 255K enrollments in October, report says


 Timeout

01-31-20 | How to get half-priced MetroCards from NYC's new Fair Fares program





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