Posted on 11/08/2025 5:47:59 PM PST by SeekAndFind
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promised during his campaign that he would make public buses free for New Yorkers as part of a wide-ranging list of ambitious goals, which included freezing rents, creating no-cost child care, and raising the minimum wage to $30 by 2030. The democratic socialist, who turned 34 years old last month, beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election on Nov. 4. The closely-watched mayoral race was one of a series of wins by the Democrats on election day.
The Uganda-born politician, who was raised in NYC, has announced an all-female team to help him transition into his new office while preparing to advance policies that will affect the millions of residents he was elected to serve.
The mayor-elect wants to add even more priority lanes for buses, expand bus jump signals, and have dedicated loading zones to prevent drivers from double-parking on the street.
Mamdani said the plan will save riders 12 percent of the time of an average bus trip because there won’t be payment or boarding delays, citing economist Charles Komanoff.
Mamdani’s office did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for a proposal to review or comments on when his plan would take effect.
The mayor-elect, who once attempted to be a rapper, said this tax increase alone will raise $5 billion extra per year.
“Without fare collection [and] with all-door boarding, trips will be faster,” Mamdani’s campaign website shared
He separately plans to increase taxes for anyone who makes more than $1 million.
“The top 1% in NYC make over $1 million a year but are taxed at essentially the same rate as everyday New Yorkers—3.9%. We’ll push to levy a new 2% tax on all incomes over $1 million,” Mamdami’s campaign said. Mandami said this would raise $4 billion annually.
The New York City mayor, however, doesn’t have the authority to change taxes. Mamdani would need to convince state lawmakers to pass his plan and for Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign it into law.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has struggled with cash flow in recent years as it deals with fare evasion and inflation.
Estimated operating costs for the MTA’s bus system—not including costs from the subway—are expected to be $704.7 million in 2025, according to the transit authority’s financial plan through 2028.
It reported being $44.5 billion in debt in 2024. That outstanding debt is expected to nearly double by 2034, according to the Office of the New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
Its next fare hike begins in January 2026 and will raise the base fare for subways, local buses, and Access-A-Ride trips from $2.90 to $3.
“I cannot make up for that with middle-class tax increases,” Hochul said during the podcast. “I cannot do that to the middle class and the struggling New Yorkers.” Hochul’s team did not respond to questions asking if her stance has changed since Mamdani was elected mayor.
Bus fares were suspended during the pandemic in 2020, and the MTA ran a pilot program that made select routes free between Sept. 24, 2023, and Sept. 1, 2024.
It found that service performance had “mixed results” and the free routes resulted in a loss of millions of dollars.
“Foregone revenue and related costs amounted to more than $16.5M over the pilot period, including foregone fare revenue on pilot routes, as well as additional lost revenue and operational costs,” an official MTA evaluation released in June 2025 found.
However, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber confirmed that the agency is willing to work with the incoming administration.
“There was a lot of thoughtful discussion during the campaign about the importance of mass transit, and we look forward to working closely with Mayor-elect Mamdani and his administration,” Lieber said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Transport Workers Union, which represents 41,000 MTA workers in NYC, for comment.
The union refused to endorse a candidate in the NYC mayoral race.
This is going to be interesting to watch.
I’d say that these sorts of changes — if enacted — will be difficult for a later administration to take away. It’s like Social Security: love the concept or hate the concept, you just can’t choose to kill the program. People paid into SS and they expect to receive value for what they paid. If NYC starts providing free childcare and free buses, then NYC residents will expect those things are part of living in NYC. Don’t try to take them away later: People will be upset.
Mamdani is making the future difficult for everyone who comes after him.
The wrecking of NYC under this clown 🤡 will be EPIC.
Adios, New York City.
(wants to raise taxes on the “wealthiest New Yorkers” by moving New York’s top corporate tax rate from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent.)
Brilliant!! 😃😄🤣🤣🤣
🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿
What a cheapskate.... why not free subways???
Note to self:
Load up on popcorn!
I’d venture more folks ride those than buses.
A City only has the following options to raise money to pay for a “Free” ( note the quotes ) program:
* It can raise taxes
* It can go into debt ( offering municipal bonds )
* It can ask for donations
* It can ask the State government to pay for the program ( Which means those who don’t live in the city will have to pay to support this program ).
* It can ask for Federal Government support ( Which means residents of other states will have to pay to support this program from this city ).
It could also be a combination of the above.
The one thing the city cannot do is print money. Only the Federal Government can do that.
Since the buses will be free then every homeless or drug addict will make it a home, rival gangs fighting each other, robbery, rape, murder and everything evil will be the standard. The union bus drivers will go on strike for ‘safety’ reasons and on and on.
And the decent cops will bolt to another state.
Socialist retard.
For his pie in the sky solutions the public should be questioned as to which flavor of pie they like best, like those Johnny on the street segments Jesse Watters Primetime.
RE: What a cheapskate.... why not free subways???
And why only $30 an hour minimum wage? Make it $50, we got plenty of numbers. :)
The ultra liberal mayor of Albuquerque instituted this during covid. The result is that the busses are rolling opium dens full of crazies, with all the attendant defecating, fighting and everything else.
Of course they can’t bring back fares because the leeches will freak out.
The behavior is so bad on the busses that a driver snapped and stabbed a homeless crazy dude to death.
RE: Why not $100? Why not $400?
Chico Marx: $600! I got plenty of numbers !
RE: And the decent cops will bolt to another state.
In all the cop procedural TV shows and movies I watch the police often say “this would endanger my pension and leave my wife and kids with nothing.”
As the sad ending of Across 110th Street where the detective looking forward to retirement and risking his life to the end (played by Anthony Quinn) gets shot.
It was fun while it lasted.
Or we could make it one thousand dollars.
RE: every homeless or drug addict will make it a home, rival gangs fighting each other, robbery, rape, murder and everything evil will be the standard.
People can just take the bus to avoid the NYC “congestion pricing plan that charges most passenger vehicles up to $9 per day to enter the Central Business District (CBD) at or below 60th Street in Manhattan with a fee structure varies based on the time of day and vehicle type.”
Like air travel flight insurance, people can get bus rider insurance in case they get slashed to death or shot during their bus trip.
To the taxpayers wanting to know how all the free stuff will be paid for that goes to the illegals and welfare mooches:
If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
Just like at the luxury sports car showrooms.
Wasn’t it just a few days ago that the people supporting Mamdani were screaming “NO KINGS”?
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