NYC students receive free OMNY cards unless they live near the school.

Some New York families who live near schools say they are unfairly missing out on free rides with the new OMNY cards for students.

Under the initiative, which launched last week, students who live more than a half-mile from school can get free OMNY cards that allow them to take four subway or bus rides a day. The rides are valid all day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That's a big improvement over the previous student MetroCard policy, which allowed students three rides a day from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on school days only.

But families who live less than a mile from their child's school say they are unfairly excluded from the program, which offers big savings on travel, summer programs and internships.

“It's great that they're doing this,” said Jill Goldstein, a mother from Manhattan. “They [should] Give it to every child in public school.”

The MTA said it had sent 1.5 million of these tap-to-pay cards to schools, which were responsible for distributing them to students.

“OMNY is all about flexible travel, so we wanted to offer students the same benefit before launching this program,” MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said in a statement last week.

Goldstein said families who live close to school should also save money on transportation costs to extracurricular activities, jobs or summer internships. Her daughter takes the subway and bus to extracurricular activities and to work on projects with friends.

“I have a hard time understanding their geographic limitations,” Goldstein said. “Why do some children have to pay for public schools while others don't?”

Darone Ruskay, a father of twins in Manhattan, said one of his children, who goes to school very close to home, did not get an OMNY card, while one who has to drive a little farther did.

He pointed out that students who use the school bus, including the large group of children who use the bus for special education, are also excluded from the free OMNY cards.

“All students really should be treated equally,” he said.

He started a petition on change.org to expand OMNY to all students. The petition has received more than 800 signatures so far.

“The OMNY Pass is much more than just a ticket to school and back home; it provides students with access to the city and enables them to participate in cultural experiences, part-time jobs, internships and other educational opportunities that extend far beyond the school gates,” the petition states.

Officials said they would review the petition.

“We welcome all feedback from families and will work with our partners at the MTA to review the petition,” said Department of Education spokeswoman Jenna Lyle.

Ruskay said expanding eligibility for the OMNY cards would serve another goal of the MTA: reducing fare fraud.

MTA leaders have noticed a spike in fare evasion around 3 p.m., when school is out – even though many students are allowed to ride the subway and bus for free. Officials have said they want to “create a buzz” to encourage fare compliance.

“I think by giving all students access [to OMNY] “It’s a way to train them,” Ruskay said.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Darone Ruskay's name.