Watch: Protesters Demand Cheaper Subway Rides For Poor New Yorkers

CITY HALL, NY — Transportation activists are holding a rally outside of City Hall on Wednesday as part of their campaign to secure funding for reduced price Metro Cards for low-income New Yorkers.

The activist group Riders Alliance is organizing the rally, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday before an executive budget hearing inside City Hall. The rally is part of the group's broader "Fair Fares" campaign, an initiative calling on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to fund half-price Metro Cards for poor residents.

At Wednesday's rally, New Yorkers who have been arrested for turnstile jumping will speak about their experiences, along with their public defenders, according to Riders Alliance. The group and other proponents of reduced price Metro Cards have called on the NYPD to stop arresting turnstile jumpers at subway stations. Activists say that prosecuting New Yorkers who try to ride the subway without paying is equivalent to criminalizing poverty.

The rally is being held outside of the City Hall stop on the R train line.

Lead image via Ali Kucukgocmen/Patch.