Mayor Zohran Mamdani should embrace expanding the city’s half-priced fare program instead of pursuing his signature campaign proposal for free buses, as the latter would do little to make transit more affordable, a fiscal watchdog group found in a new report released Wednesday.
The group, the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC), published its report ahead of a May 6 City Council hearing on the existing program, Fair Fares. The hearing will see council members question the Mamdani administration and MTA officials about legislation that would require them to develop a system for automatically enrolling eligible individuals who qualify for other city-administered benefits.
