Free buses are a centerpiece of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s affordability agenda for New York City. In December, he said that he “remain[s] fully committed to delivering fast and free buses, and [is] already working with riders, transit workers, and the state to map out the steps to expand service, improve reliability, and make the transit system accessible to all New Yorkers.” The proposal sounds intuitive: if the city is too expensive, and if transportation is a daily necessity for millions of New Yorkers, then making buses free should offer a meaningful cost-of-living fix.
But this argument rests on a misdiagnosis: bus fares are not a serious factor in New York’s affordability crisis. By treating them as one, Mamdani is picking a highly visible but relatively minor expense and elevating it into a symbol of economic injustice. He is targeting a city service that is not, in fact, broken. Moreover, his proposal, if implemented, will only make things worse.
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Affordability arguments would make sense only if New York’s transit costs were wildly out of line with those of other major American cities. They are not: a standard subway or bus ride costs $3, while longer commute options, such as an express bus or a peak LIRR ticket, cost $7.25 per trip. Taken twice daily over roughly 245 working days, that comes to $1,470 per year for standard transit, or $3,550 annually for express busing.
By comparison, Boston’s CharlieCard subway costs slightly less at $2.40 per trip, though fares on its commuter rail vary widely because of distance-based costs (between $2.40 and $13.25). Chicago’s CTA train service costs between $2.25 and $2.50 per ride.
The Washington, D.C., Metro has a slightly more expensive weekday commuter price, ranging between $2.25 and $6.75, also depending on distance. Austin’s CapMetro is $3.50 per ride and notably smaller than the complex transportation system of New York City.
Miami’s Metrobus or Metrorail costs $2.25 per ride, while the Inter-County Express Bus costs just $2.65. However, Miami’s rail service is far smaller than New York’s system and is reportedly riddled with long delays and cancellations.
While New York City transit’s cost is not an outlier, the system’s scale and reach are: Gotham offers a far larger, more integrated, and more heavily used public transportation network than any other city in the United States—and the competition isn’t even close.
Transit performance is just as important as price and scale. According to the MTA, between 92 and 95 percent of buses arrive on time, with average delays being between two and three minutes. Making buses free risks degrading performance. Without significant operational reforms and expanded capacity, higher ridership would simply lead to more crowding, slower trips, and greater strain on vehicles and staff. Additionally, eliminating fares risks turning buses into de facto homeless shelters, creating safety and comfort challenges for passengers and drivers alike.
Mamdani’s affordability framing obscures the real tradeoffs involved in paying for a “free” service. Free busing may cost up to $800 million to fund, adding to an already precarious budget gap of $12.6 billion. And Mamdani’s preferred solution to this problem—higher taxes on businesses—comes with its own consequences. Businesses respond to higher taxes by raising prices, cutting back on hiring, reducing investment, or leaving the market altogether. All those costs are passed on to consumers. Therefore, in practical terms, the working New Yorker who saves $3 on a bus ride and less than $2,000 a year may lose some or all of those savings to higher prices at local stores, fewer job opportunities, and slower wage growth. The affordability gain is small, diffuse, and uncertain, but the economic distortions are real and cumulative.
A government subsidy to fix an imagined problem may be a good campaign strategy, but New Yorkers would be better off if Mayor Mamdani grounds his free buses proposal indefinitely.
Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
