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The head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has expressed skepticism about Zohran Mamdani’s campaign proposal to offer free bus services throughout New York City, labeling the plan as underdeveloped and significantly underfunded.
“We must prioritize low-income individuals in this debate rather than spending excessively on those who take the 104 bus on the Upper West Side,” stated MTA CEO Janno Lieber during an interview on NY1 Wednesday morning.
Lieber further argued that the estimated $700 million annual cost associated with the free bus initiative was inaccurately low.
“The campaign’s figures are based on last year’s bus fare revenue,” he explained. “However, our forecasts indicate that bus revenue could approach $1 billion annually within the next few years,” he added.
Moreover, Lieber emphasized that the policy championed by the Democratic Socialist assembly member and leading mayoral candidate requires extensive analysis and review, implying that its implementation may still be several years away.
“Any change of the scale that’s being talked about, taking a section of our incredibly important transit system and changing it entirely, has to be studied,” Lieber added. “We studied congestion pricing for five years, and when we implemented it, we knew where there might be impacts.”
But Lieber also raised the issue of more people taking the buses instead of the subways as a result and pointed to another reason for studies.
“What’s not being discussed is the possibility that, if a lot more people are riding the bus,” he said. “Are we going to need more busses? Are we going to need more bus drivers? Will we need extra depots? What will be the impact on subway fare revenue if everyone moves to the but or some people move to the bus, right?
“Those need to be studied.”