Hochul Casts Doubts on Mamdani’s Free Bus Plan for NYC

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has ambitious plans for New York City, including his proposal to make buses free throughout the nation’s largest city.

That goal, however, will need support from state lawmakers in Albany and a green light from the governor, who controls the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that operates New York City’s public transit.

While speaking to reporters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 8, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul cast doubts on Mamdani’s free bus plan.

“I 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,” she said.

“But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course we can.”

Hochul, a Democrat, also said that it was a priority to make child care more affordable for New Yorkers who need help but that the cost to do it statewide—$15 billion—would exhaust the state’s reserves.

The governor made the comments after joining Mamdani for an annual gathering in Puerto Rico for New York’s political class.

Earlier on Nov. 8, Hochul praised Mamdani while giving a speech at a labor breakfast.

“I feel so good, and the fact that in New York City, we have a new mayor who’s lighting politics on fire, and I’m going to work with him to make life more affordable in New York City, and I’ll continue all over the state with my great partners,” Hochul said.

The governor also emphasized that she is unwavering in her commitment to not raise taxes on New York’s wealthy to fund some of Mamdani’s ambitions for the United States’ largest city.

“I’m the one putting money back in people’s pockets and cutting middle-class taxes, as I’ve done, and finding ways to support child care,” Hochul said in an interview with ABC. “These are areas where I’m aligned with Zoran Mamdani, and we’ll work on this and build more housing so people can have a roof over their heads in New York.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the governor’s office for further clarification on her plans to work with Mamdani on transit proposals for New York City but received no response by publication time.

A democratic socialist, Mamdani ran on a platform of making life in New York City more affordable for its residents, offering three central promises to voters: universal free child care, free buses, and freezing rent on rent-stabilized apartments.

Although the mayor-elect would need support from the state to deliver the first two promises, he could likely pursue a rent freeze on his own.

It would cost at least $652 million a year to eliminate local bus fares in New York City, according to a 2023 estimate by the city’s Independent Budget Office.

If fares were eliminated only for riders 65 or older, it would cost $40 million annually, and it would cost $28 million if buses were made free for low-income New Yorkers only.

Hochul endorsed Mamdani in September and said on Nov. 8 that she has had “many conversations” with him since, which led to an understanding of what’s in the realm of possibility and what their shared ambitions are.

“But what is doable is the question,” she said. “And so now we’re aligned on some of these issues. You know, I’ve made it clear where I have strong disagreements with issues that really do not pertain to you know, the governance of New York City.”

Hochul added that she advocated for Mamdani to retain NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch because she “has a record of accomplishment to keep the trajectory” of crime decreasing in the city.

Unveiling his mayoral transition team during a press conference on Nov. 10, Mamdani said he was continuing to retain his “interest in keeping” Tisch as police commissioner and will notify the public if that changes.

When asked whether he’s willing to “play hardball” and use all the power afforded to him as mayor to push back on anyone blocking his plan to make buses free in New York City, Mamdani said, “I am confident that what we will find in Albany is a politics of partnership that we have not seen for quite some time.”

“And so I think much of this will remain hypothetical in that what we have found in the conversations we’ve been having is that affordability is, in fact, a thread that unites many across the party and the necessity of delivering on it,” he said.

Mamdani’s team did not respond by publication time to a request for comment on the governor’s remarks.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Janno Lieber has also expressed concerns about making the city’s buses free.

“I want to make sure that people of limited income get priority in this discussion that we’re not just giving a ton of money to people who are riding the 104 on the Upper West Side, where I grew up, who take the bus on Broadway instead of taking the subway,” he said in a recent interview on NY1.

Mamdani has said he would make buses free in New York City by increasing the city’s top corporate tax rate from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent, which he said would raise an additional $5 billion annually.

The mayor-elect said he would also levy a new 2 percent tax rate on top of the 3.9 percent that New Yorkers who make more than $1 million a year already pay.

Mamdani said this would raise an extra $4 billion annually.

However, this plan would require the support of state lawmakers and the governor, who would sign the legislation into law.

Jacki Thrapp contributed to this report.