It is increasingly unlikely that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to make city buses free will come to fruition this year. In the meantime, transit advocates who support his plan want him to embrace a more immediate step: Expanding Fair Fares, the city’s reduced fare program.
Hizzoner has not said much publicly about free buses since taking office on Jan. 1, opting instead to focus on another marquee campaign promise — universal child care — and getting the city’s finances in order. At the same time, he has avoided directly addressing where he stands on the reduced fare program amid advocates’ concerted push to make it free for those currently eligible and expand it to more income levels.
