Subway and bus riders voted overwhelmingly for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who won neighborhoods where most people commute by transit by 29 points. It’s little wonder, given his unprecedented promise to make buses fast and free.
Thanks to Mamdani’s historic campaign, focus on bus policy has surged, teasing apart the relationship between fast and free. Riders Alliance, which has organized to win affordable transit for a decade, is especially excited by the prospect of pairing fast and free buses with a transformed Fair Fares program.
As Mamdani prepares his budget, we urge our next mayor to fund free buses for every rider, free subway rides for very low-income New Yorkers, and half fares for more workers, who are often burdened with punishing commutes and multiple transfers to reach jobs everyone else depends on…