Political promises of "free buses" in New York City are contributing to a spike in fare evasion that is costing the city’s mass transit system millions of dollars, transit officials warn.
In July, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Janno Lieber blamed political rhetoric for fueling fare evasion, though he never mentioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani by name.
"There’s a trend that broke out," Lieber told reporters following a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, according to the New York Post. "With malice towards none, I say all of the talk of free buses, it has an impact."
The MTA reported that paid bus ridership fell nearly 8% in June compared to the same month last year. During Mamdani’s first six months in office, bus fare revenue fell by $31 million compared to the first half of 2025. Agency estimates show nearly half of bus riders now skip the $3 fare.
If this was a program to help the poor, you might have an argument for it. But I am sure middle class New Yorkers are taking advantage of this as well. (I doubt the Park Avenue set is riding city buses.)
There is an argument that fare box recovery is such a small part of the total revenue that collecting and counting it is not worth the cost. Many years ago, I ran for Santa Monica City Council. In preparing to run, I looked over the financials for various city departments. I was startled to find that fares were a trivial part of the spending. Most of the costs was covered by federal and state revenues. The Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines cost $4.25/passenger mile. Fares were $0.25 for all but the rare out of zone trips, typically far outside the city. For that actual cost, it would be cheaper to provide free taxi service.
Still, there is a logical error here. Any service that is free to the user will be used with wild abandon: bus trips of two blocks; homeless people spending the day and night in a place that is warm and dry, and relatively safe. Buses will get very crowded.
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