If the government had its way, budget cuts passed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board will be implemented by next fall, eliminating the stipend given to students In New York City for transportation going to and from school.

The cuts to the subsidies for the MetroCards given to students are not yet final. The MTA board will be conducting a public comment period over the coming weeks so that people who are going to be affected can raise their concern about the budget cuts. The board will then vote again early next year. If the cuts are then approved, the 584,000 city students who receive free or half-fare MetroCards would be receiving half-fare cards beginning September of 2010. In September of 2011, all students would have to pay full rates which will translate to nearly $700 a school year at current rates.

As city officials brainstorm ideas of who’s going to be shouldering the responsibility to pay for the program, parents, students and administrators forecasted a very different education landscape once the budget cuts are implemented. One scenario would be that the choices of schools would be limited by the students’ ability to afford transportation across the city. They further predict that absenteeism and truancy will definitely be rising.

Students have enjoyed free transportation in New York City for decades even if urban areas in the state are not legally required to provide it, said Tom Dunn, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Education. Rural areas, though, are the ones that are required to compensate for student transportation. The effects of this budget in the competitiveness of city high schools would be felt because now many students who have the capability of attending a city high school will not be able to because they cannot afford to pay for transportation.

As the cost of the program rose from $162 million in 2000 to $239 million in 2008, based on average fares, the city and state contribution remained relatively constant: about $45 million from the state and $46 million from the city. In 2009, however, the state’s share fell to $25 million, then $6 million probably due to the economic recession that has hit every aspect of the US economy.