Lawmakers from every corner of Queens gathered on March 22 in the state capitol to call on Gov. Kathy Hochul to include funding for an MTA fare freeze and a free bus pilot in the final state budget as negotiations continue through April 1.
Legislators from both chambers released their one-house budget proposals last week.
“Our one-house budget proposals delivered historic investments in the MTA. We rejected the $3 fare hike proposed by the governor, proposed investing $50 million dollars in a free bus pilot in New York City and, in the Senate, proposed expanding the Automated Bus Lane Enforcement (ABLE) program,” Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani said. “These investments will get our constituents where they need to go — whether it’s home, to work, to play, or to a place of worship. We are calling on the governor to protect these investments in the final budget and to expand them — so that we can bring them home to our constituents, working-class New Yorkers who desperately need, and deserve these investments in public transit.”
