![\"group](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bus-rally-lloyd-mitchell-120725.jpg\" "\\"'Make")
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Advocates rally for free buses in NYC.<\/p>\n
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n
About two dozen transit advocates rallied in Brooklyn on Sunday to urge Zohran Mamdani\u2019s<\/a> incoming mayoral administration to make good on his campaign promise of a fare-free NYC bus system.<\/p>\n Members of the Riders Alliance<\/a> gathered at the Atlantic Ave.-Barclays Center subway station on Dec. 7, calling for the new administration, which will take office on Jan. 1, to automate enrollment into and expand eligibility for the Fair Fares program, which currently provides half-priced subway and bus fares<\/a> to low-income public transit users who live at 145% of the federal poverty level.<\/p>\n Advocates at the rally not only want to double the eligibility level, but also demand that Mamdani fulfill his pledge to make all NYC buses fare-free \u2014 a complicated effort that will require not only negotiation between the city, the state and the MTA, but also the city finding a dedicated revenue stream to keep the buses rolling.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are calling on the incoming administration to expand the Fair Fares program up to 300% along with their promise to make the buses free,\u201d said Norma Ginez, a Riders Alliance member from the Bronx. \u201cWe deserve to have both free and discounted options to ride the subway too. Riders across the city are prepared to fight for a real affordable plan, one that makes the buses fast and free and one that makes transit in general affordable and accessible for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani pushed for universally free buses throughout his campaign, but ultimately, the decision to end the fare would have to come from the MTA, a state-run agency. The mayor-elect was not at Sunday\u2019s Riders Alliance rally.<\/p>\n amNewYork contacted Mamdani\u2019s transition team for comment on this story and is awaiting a response.\u00a0 Ralliers on Sunday held signs that read messages such as \u201cMake Transit Affordable\u201d and \u201cFree the Bus.\u201d Their chants of \u201cTransit justice now!\u201d and \u201cThe power of riders don\u2019t stop!\u201d echoed throughout the station.<\/p>\n According to the advocates on Sunday, the cost of navigating the city by bus is \u201cno small change\u201d for many New Yorkers.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cFor many reasons \u2013 including poverty, operational difficulties and pandemic-era disruptions \u2013 the bus fare is faltering as a reliable source of revenue to fund public transit service,\u201d A press release from the Riders Alliances read. \u201cAlready, little more than half of bus riders pay the fare. Even assuming everyone paid, fares would cover less than half the cost of providing each ride.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Leilani Cook, of Jamaica, Queens, said she is enrolled in Fair Fares, and knows what it is like for many New Yorkers who are struggling to afford basic needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor years, I have organized with Riders Alliance around affordability and I know that the choice between a meal and a MetroCard is a very real one that so many New Yorkers experience,\u201d she explained. \u201cMy Fair Fares card makes taking transit more affordable for me, but there are so many other people who are struggling to afford basic things like food and yet somehow do not qualify.\u201d<\/p>\n MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber has repeatedly said he is \u201cthrilled\u201d that transit was a key point of discussion during the mayoral election.\n<\/p>\n He reiterated the point during an interview on \u201cThe Point with Marcia Kramer\u201d on Sunday, adding that \u201csomething of this scale,\u201d meaning free buses, \u201cneeds to be studied a lot,\u201d while noting that congestion pricing had been studied for five years before it launched this year on Jan. 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe ought to study this,\u201d Lieber said. \u201cWe, at the MTA, are committed to affordability. Look at what we\u2019ve done. We have kept fare increases down to 2% a year when inflation was much higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"people](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DSC_9113.jpg\" "\\"'Make")
Advoactes rallied in Brooklyn\u2019s Atlantic Ave.-Barclay\u2019s Center subway stop to advocate for free buses and expanding the city\u2019s fare discount program.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell\n<\/p>\n![\"people](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bus-rally-lloyd-mitchell-120725_a8c537.jpg\" "\\"'Make")
Advocates urged the incoming Zohran Mamdani administration to automate enrollment in and expand eligibility for the city\u2019s Fair Fares program.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n