{"id":34141,"date":"2025-11-09T20:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T20:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/34141\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T20:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T20:20:09","slug":"hochul-appears-to-squash-mayor-elect-mamdanis-plan-for-fare-free-buses-in-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/34141\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul appears to squash Mayor-elect Mamdani\u2019s plan for fare-free buses in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"MixCollage-15-Sep-2025-11-46-AM-3227\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani (left) and Gov. Kathy Hochul.<\/p>\n

Photo by Lloyd Mitchell and Mike Groll\/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul<\/p>\n

Less than a week after the election, Gov. Kathy Hochul appears to be slowly squashing one of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani\u2019s big campaign promises: Fare-free buses in NYC<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Hochul endorsed Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani shortly before he won the historic 2025 NYC mayoral election on Nov. 4. But during the SOMOS organization\u2019s political conference in Puerto Rico over the weekend, Hochul seemed to put a pin into the balloon of Mamdani\u2019s free bus concept, stating that it would jeopardize the funding of New York\u2019s public transit system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways. But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course, we can,\u201d Hochul said during a press conference during Somos, a social-political event held in Puerto Rico last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for the governor, told amNewYork that Hochul and Mamdani are committed to \u201cdelivering an affordability agenda\u201d \u00a0for New York\u2019s working families.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe governor is focused on achieving universal child care and will continue to have ongoing conversations on other proposals, including making transit more accessible and affordable, while ensuring the MTA has the resources it needs to serve New Yorkers,\u201d Goodman said.<\/p>\n

Hochul has already invested in the MTA\u2019s $68.4 billion capital plan for infrastructure and subway safety improvements. She, along with MTA officials, has also invested in fare evasion prevention strategies on city buses and subways, a scourge that contributes nearly $1 billion in revenue loss for the state-run transportation agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2022, the MTA lost $315 million in bus fare evasion<\/a> alone.<\/p>\n

Throughout his campaign, Mamdani made it clear that he wants to raise taxes on corporations and the \u201cwealthiest\u201d of New Yorkers to pay for free buses. However, Hochul \u2014 who is running for re-election in 2026 \u2014 has remained steadfast in her commitment not to raise taxes, which would likely cut short any plans the Mayor-elect has for his ambitious transit agenda.\u00a0<\/p>\n

amNewYork contacted Mamdani\u2019s office to ask how he would pay for fare-free buses in NYC without a tax jump, and is awaiting a response.\u00a0
\n\"peopleStraphangers ride the B46 bus in Brooklyn spanning from Williamsburg to Crown Heights, Utica Avenue.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell\n<\/p>\n

Mamdani, who overwhelmingly won the mayoral election this year, will take office on Jan. 1. The centerpiece of his tax hike plan is to raise the corporate tax rate to match New Jersey\u2019s 11.5%, which he claims will generate $5 billion for the city.<\/p>\n

However, he also plans to implement a flat 2% tax on individual New Yorkers who earn over $1 million per year to fund the services he promised, including not only free buses but also free childcare and government-run grocery stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Any tax increase would require the approval of the state Legislature and the governor.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

While Hochul appears unwilling to budge on a tax hike, the Mayor-elect appears to have at least some support from the politicians in charge of the state Assembly and Senate, Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, respectively \u2014 both of whom endorsed Mamdani\u2019s mayoral bid.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s November. It\u2019s still kinda early. We gotta see how things fit inside of the state budget,\u201d Heastie said in a NY1 News<\/a> article. \u201cBut I think there\u2019s a willingness. I don\u2019t want to speak for the other two partners in this. But we want Zohran, the mayor-elect, to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart-Cousins said in a statement following Mamdani\u2019s mayoral win last week that his victory marks a \u201cmoment of progress\u201d for NYC, adding that she will \u201cadvance an affordability agenda\u201d with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAffordability is the issue that unites us all, and it\u2019s one the Senate Majority has long prioritized,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is an exciting time for New York City and New York state, and we look forward to working closely with Mayor-elect Mamdani to advance an affordability agenda that makes our city and state more livable for working families and the middle class.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the city\u2019s Independent Budget Office, fare-free buses on the city\u2019s more than 200 local routes would likely cost around $652 million a year.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the MTA\u2019s John McCarthy, in a statement to amNewYork, said it is important to \u201ctake a hard look\u201d at any major change in the transit system.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, why is congestion pricing successful? Because we took the time to study its benefits and impacts,\u201d he said. \u201cBy the time the first camera turned on, we had understood \u2013 and prepared for \u2013 every potential impact of the policy. That\u2019s how we deliver on major changes. This proposal would demand the same kind of rigorous analysis, and we\u2019d start by putting it through its paces.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani (left) and Gov. Kathy Hochul. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell and Mike…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[20327,3932,9,56,63,65,64,20328,20329,142,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-34141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-free-buses-in-nyc","9":"tag-gov-kathy-hochul","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-ny","12":"tag-nyc","13":"tag-nyc-headlines","14":"tag-nyc-news","15":"tag-nys-senate","16":"tag-nys-assembly","17":"tag-transit","18":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}