(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s progressive plan to offer free bus service would saddle taxpayers with more than $900 million a year in new costs, according to a fiscal watchdog, which says the money would be better spent on reducing fares.
The report by the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission, released Wednesday, urges the City Council not to pursue Mamdani’s signature campaign proposal for “fast and free” bus service. Instead, the watchdog is backing a plan that would allow the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to raise the Fair Fares income eligibility threshold from 150% to 250% of the federal poverty level.
“This would make life more affordable and increase economic opportunities for low-income New Yorkers,” Adam Schmidt, a senior research analyst at the commission, said in testimony to the city council on Wednesday. “This expansion would cost $146 million, bringing the program’s total annual cost to $232 million.”
“At about one-sixth the cost of fare-free buses, this expansion would be a far more impactful and cost-effective use of precious City resources during a time of budget stress,” Schmidt said.
He said fare-free buses are also unlikely to increase speeds, citing data from New York and elsewhere showing higher bus ridership could increase crowding, slowing speeds. Increasing bus service to compensate for the slower service would also drive up costs for the city, the commission said in its report.
“Raising the Fair Fares eligibility threshold to include more working low-income New Yorkers for whom transit poses a significant expense is a smart choice that reduces the cost of living without subsidizing those who can afford transit,” Schmidt said in his testimony.
He said expanding the Fair Fares program would make an additional 722,000 New Yorkers eligible, bringing the total eligible population to nearly 2 million. That would reach one in every four working adults and cover households earning 20% more than the full-time minimum wage, the commission said.
The report comes as the City Council pushes to expand the city’s Fair Fares program for low-income New Yorkers by authorizing automatic access to discounted subway, bus and paratransit trips.
The program, launched in 2019, offers half-priced tickets for riders between the ages of 18 and 64 who make less than 150% of the federal poverty line. The expansion plans would cost about $130 million according to city officials.
“Affordable and accessible public transit is essential to ensuring New Yorkers can get to work, school, medical appointments, and other essential services,” City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a statement. “
But the plan to expand the program puts the council at odds with Mamdani administration, which is proposed to make bus service free citywide, regardless of income. It was a key campaign pledge for the democratic socialist, who took office in January. Critics have suggested the mayor’s plan is unlikely to come to fruition this year, given the city’s projected $5.4 billion budget gap next fiscal year.
