Half-priced MetroCard program slated for 2019

New York City has passed a budget that includes reduced priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. 
The $89.2 billion city budget was passed Monday, and included a promise by Mayor Bill de Blasio to provide funding for bus and subway rides to some of poorest in the city.
An estimated 800,000 people could be eligible for the program, but officials say not that many are expected to enroll at least in the first year.
To qualify for the program, income must fall below the federal poverty line, which would average out to about $25,000 a year for a family of four.
In the past, the mayor has stated while he supported the idea of half-priced MetroCards, he was never sure how to make it work.
One idea had been to have it be paid for with a tax to high-income earners, which would require action on the state level.
The program is slated to being in January 2019.