MTA Chairman Janno Lieber signaled his opposition Wednesday to one of many signature coverage proposals of Democratic mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani — fare-free buses.
Mamdani, a state Meeting member representing Queens, has made “fast and free buses” a key plank in his affordability platform, saying it could price the MTA $700 million to $800 million a 12 months to fund this system.
However Lieber questioned that determine in an interview on NY1 Wednesday, saying it was primarily based on final 12 months’s farebox income from the New York Metropolis bus system — a quantity that he expects will enhance.
“Our projection is that bus revenue is going to start to push closer to a billion dollars a year in the next couple of years, as we’ve gotten customers back and, frankly, as we’ve pushed back on fare evasion on buses,” he stated.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber is pictured on the Workplace of Emergency Administration in Brooklyn on Friday, April 5, 2024. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Day by day Information)
In one other interview, launched Wednesday on Substack by the New York Editorial Board, a gaggle of veteran journalists, Lieber cautioned in opposition to “bumper-sticker decision-making.”
“It is, you know, one of the things that makes New York affordable,” Lieber stated of the transit system. “I want to make it maximally affordable to those in need. I don’t really have the option, because of the economics of this system, of saying I want to talk about free transit.”
Chatting with reporters at a gathering of the MTA’s board on Wednesday, Lieber stated that the MTA would research the free bus proposal.
“Any proposal of this scale and complexity needs to be studied. We will study it,” Lieber stated. “I know that the folks who are running for mayor understand that.”
“We don’t take a position as long as campaigns are going on about specifics,” Lieber continued, noting Mamdani has been a “big supporter of transit.”
The Mamdani marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to questions on Lieber’s feedback Wednesday.
Impartial mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, requested about Lieber’s feedback Wednesday, used the chance to assault Mamdani’s proposal.
“What he’s saying is take a lot of years to study,” Cuomo stated of Lieber, “which is a politic way of saying, ‘It’s a dumb idea.’”
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pictured in Staten Island on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Rose Abuin / New York Day by day Information)
Disagreement on free buses between the progressive Democrat and the transit boss is nothing new.
Lieber and different MTA brass had been skeptical of a pilot program co-developed by Mamdani that ran a fare-free bus route in every borough final 12 months.
“There was a lot of fanfare on this pilot,” then-acting NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow stated on the conclusion of the pilot program final July. “Our hope was that this pilot would get people out of their cars and onto buses on these routes. We did not see anything that aligned with that initial intent.”
Mamdani, nevertheless, declared the pilot program a hit.
New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks throughout a press convention on Oct. 29, 2025, within the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. (Photograph by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Pictures)
Lieber stated Wednesday that bus enhancements might necessitate a bigger fleet — and extra.
“What’s not being discussed is the possibility that, if a lot more people are riding the bus, are we going to need more buses?” Lieber advised NY1. “Are we gonna need more bus drivers? Will we need extra depots?”
Any wage for added bus drivers would come from the MTA working finances, which is partially funded by farebox revenues.
With Chris Sommerfeldt and Rose Abuin
