Overview
- MTA Chair Janno Lieber publicly dismissed Zohran Mamdani’s fare-free bus proposal as underdeveloped and said replacing bus fares could approach $1 billion a year, above the campaign’s estimate.
- Lieber warned that free service could spur demand that necessitates more buses, drivers and depots, with potential knock-on effects for subway fare revenue.
- The MTA said it will study major campaign transit ideas rather than enact immediate changes, with reviews likely to take years and possibly needing bondholder approval.
- Agency data show bus fare evasion remains high—about 50% on Select Bus Service and 44% on local routes in Q3 2025—figures folded into revenue projections that assume tougher enforcement.
- The dispute surfaces less than a week before the mayoral election, as Mamdani continues to promote a $630 million to $800 million annual cost and defends last year’s fare-free pilot as economic relief that MTA officials say fell short of its goals.