Socialism

Mamdani, a democratic socialist with an impressive campaign cash haul, is promising to make New York City buses free. The proposal continues his work on the issue in the state Legislature, where he and state Sen. Michael Gianaris were the architects of a free bus pilot program. It is also a part of a suite of campaign proposals related to affordability, the overarching theme dominating the race so far.

“To the extent that elected officials want to do things that are easily understood and popular, there are few things that match free bus service in that,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director at the transit advocacy group Riders Alliance.

But there are snags: It would be an additional expense – possibly more than $700 million – for an already cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The mayor of New York City also doesn’t have direct control over the MTA, a state agency. Mamdani has not yet put forth a specific proposal on where the funding would come from, but has said that the city would have a role in paying for it, and has pointed to unpaid landlord fines as one potential source of revenue.

Mamdani’s bus proposal sets him apart from his opponents, some of whom have suggested tackling transit affordability by expanding Fair Fares, the existing program that provides discounted fares to low-income New Yorkers. In pitching his proposal, Mamdani has highlighted the results of the one-year pilot of free buses, which saw fares removed from one bus route in each borough. Among other takeaways, a report by the MTA found that the pilot led to average ridership increases of 30% on weekdays and 38% on weekends. Roughly 12% of riders were new to the routes, and they were more likely to ride for leisure and errands than for trips to school or work.