Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s fast and free buses plan faces funding gap

Mayor of New York City Zahran Mamdani Made quick and easy Free buses“It’s a defining promise of his administration, positioning the proposal as a measure for affordability and a long-overdue reform of a bus system that supporters say has been neglected for decades. But its big swing appears poised to collide with New York City’s political reality.

Supporters say free buses would reduce conflict, improve safety and provide immediate relief to riders who rely on buses the most. Skeptics, including On-air critics And transportation organizations warn that the idea risks creating a major funding gap for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unless the city commits to a permanent revenue stream and a clear operating plan.

New York City bus riders already face some of the slowest services in the country despite transporting millions of passengers daily.

As of early 2026, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has backed away from Mayor Zahran Mamdani’s proposal to provide free buses citywide, arguing that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) cannot afford the estimated annual loss in fare revenue. (Nicholas Lannom/Fox News Digital)

“We are the largest ridership, and yet we are subject to the slowest buses. It’s a fundamental injustice. It’s embarrassing,” Danny Pearlstein, director of policy and communications for the Riders Alliance, told Fox News Digital during a bus ride through the Bronx.

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This history helps explain why Mamdani’s proposal resonated politically. Bus riders, many of whom are students, seniors and caregivers, are as pressed for time and money as drivers or subway riders, Perlstein said. However, buses have long been de-prioritized on New York City streets.

He added: “That is why this administration’s call for fast and free buses resonates.”

Pearlstein’s interview, among others, is part of Fox News Digital’s “The Rise of Socialism” series, which examines how socialist ideas and policies are increasingly shaping political debates and public policy in major cities across the United States.

Advocates first point to safety and reducing conflict. Several interviewees claimed that disputes over fares are a constant source of tension between passengers and bus operators.

“When you eliminate bus fares, the friction between riders and drivers disappears,” said Brian Fritsch, associate director of the MTA’s Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC). “It creates a safer atmosphere for drivers. This has been a sore point for a number of years.”

Brian Fritsch told Fox News Digital that his organization needs to see a more “concrete plan” and determine funding streams for free buses before taking a position on the proposal. (Nicholas Lannom/Fox News Digital)

Transit analyst Charles Komanoff, who drafted Mamdani’s proposal for free buses, echoed that view, noting that fights over fare payment have led to assaults on drivers in the past.

“Every year, there are probably dozens of cases in which a bus driver is assaulted,” Komanov said. “That should diminish or perhaps disappear altogether if there is no expectation of paying the fare in the first place.”

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Advocates also cite data from New York City’s newest free bus pilotwhich was launched in late 2023 under the mandate of the state budget. The MTA selected one local route in each area and suspended fares for about a year before restoring fare collection in September 2024.

According to the MTA’s assessment, ridership increased on all five toll-free routes, with weekday ridership up nearly 30 percent and weekend ridership up nearly 40 percent. However, the agency found that most of the increase came from existing passengers taking more trips, rather than from large numbers of new passengers entering the system for the first time. The MTA estimated the nine-month test flight would cost about $12 million in lost fare revenue and related expenses.

The fare-free pilot highlights a key argument in the free transit debate: eliminating fares can boost ridership, but it also creates a measurable gap in the budget and does not automatically translate into significant “new” demand. Moreover, the money would have to come from taxpayers, from Albany, or from other sources if the policy is expanded.

New York City loses nearly $1 billion to fare evasion annually. This is roughly the same cost as Mamdani’s free and express bus proposal. However, skeptics say the government must find long-term revenue sources to make free buses a success. (Nicholas Lannom/Fox News Digital)

The pilot, however, proved that free buses are safer and more popular, even if they’re not a silver bullet, Pearlstein said.

Beyond safety, supporters say free buses would significantly improve affordability, especially for low-income New Yorkers who rely on buses for short, essential trips.

“Most of the costs of operating buses are actually paid for by public subsidies, not by fares,” Perlstein said. “We are raising several hundred million dollars from the fare fund, compared to several billion already invested. What we are replacing is a much smaller order than what we have already raised from other sources.”

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Komanov added that most of the new bus trips resulting from free fares will not replace car travel but will instead allow people to take trips they are currently forgoing.

“We want people to have the basic right to the city,” he said.

Proponents also say eliminating fares could modestly speed up buses by reducing boarding time and enabling boarding at all doors.

In his own model, Komanoff estimated that free buses could improve speeds by about 7 to 12 percent. Not transformative, but useful for everyday riders.

“This will represent a tangible improvement in the lives of the two million New Yorkers who ride buses every day,” he said.

However, even advocates of this idea admit that speed and reliability are more important than price alone.

Transit expert Charles Komanoff said he believes Mamdani’s bus proposal would essentially generate “free money” through the time saved per passenger. (Nicholas Lannom/Fox News Digital)

“Let’s be clear,” Komanov said. “Making buses work better, making them faster, more reliable and more consistent, is probably more important than making them free. But I think we can do both.”

The biggest The obstacle to Mamdani’s plan is money.

“If there’s a free bus program, there should be some Additional revenue “Coming to the MTA,” Fritsch said. “They clearly couldn’t make cuts to make up for that loss.”

Bus fare revenue is currently used to back long-term MTA bonds, meaning eliminating fares would require restructuring existing funding, not just replacing annual operating dollars.

PCAC has identified more than 20 potential revenue sources that could theoretically fund free buses, but Fritsch said the challenge lies in political will, as well as coordination between the city and the MTA.

“The mayor has initiatives, and the Public Transport Authority is a government agency,” he said. “They need to meet somewhere in the middle.”

Mamdani is struggling to explain how he will fund the free buses

Komanoff claimed that New York City taxpayers, not suburban commuters or the RTA itself, should bear the cost, and estimated the annual cost at $800 million.

“This is not a small change,” he said. “But this doesn’t change the game for the city’s finances either.”

Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, drafted the framework Funding question Through this ideological lens, arguing that basic services should be widely available and funded through increased taxes on corporations and higher income earners. His platform repeatedly emphasizes redistribution policies, expanding the public role in daily living costs, and positioning free buses as a public good rather than a market transaction.

Critics say the philosophy downplays operational constraints.

Charlton D’Souza, founding president of Passengers United and a native of southeast Queens, worries that free buses could create unrealistic expectations for a system already plagued by understaffing, outdated equipment, and uneven service.

“We don’t have enough bus drivers. The trips are not filling up,” D’Souza said. “If you make buses free, people will expect service.”

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He also raised concerns about accountability and long-term budget stability, pointing to previous cuts to services during economic downturns.

“I lived in 2008 Budget cutsD’Souza continued. “They cut bus lines; they cut subway lines. When elected officials talk, they don’t always understand the dynamics of the operations.”

There are also doubts about who might benefit from the free bus proposal. Some argue that universal free fares would subsidize riders who can already pay, while diverting resources from targeted programs.

“If someone makes $100,000 or $200,000 and gets a free ride, how is that fair?” D’Souza said, suggesting expanding the city’s Fair Rates Program instead.

New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani is widely described as a democratic socialist. His campaign materials frame an affordability agenda funded by “tax corporations and the 1%” and include other key redistribution goals. (Nicholas Lannom/Fox News Digital)

Critics also view the free bus service as a symbol of A broader ideological shift Towards democratic socialism, where services traditionally supported by user fees are treated as global public goods. Eliminating fares would sever the direct relationship between use and payment, shifting the full cost of transit to taxpayers and expanding the role of government in everyday economic life.

Supporters see this shift as a moral correction of inequality, but skeptics argue that it reflects a socialist governance philosophy that favors redistribution over market pricing and risks normalizing permanent public subsidies.

Despite the concerns, even cautious observers say Mamdani’s proposal has shifted the conversation.

“I liked his positivity and can-do attitude,” Komanoff said, recalling his first meeting with Mamdani years ago at a rally in favor of congestion pricing. “He doesn’t seem stuck in the usual political parameters.”

Translating this optimism into policy will depend on whether the administration is able to secure stable financing, address operational constraints, and move forward. Persuading Albany to cooperate.

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For now, Mamdani’s free bus plan sits at the intersection of ambition and calculation, popular with riders and sensible to advocates, but it still faces a long list of financial and logistical hurdles.

As Fritsch puts it: “There is no shortage of ideas. The question is where exactly does the money come from and who has the political courage to make it happen?”

Fox News Digital’s Nikos DeGruccio contributed to this report.