Kansas City’s experiment with free bus fares is coming to an end as the Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race pushes to eliminate fares on the Big Apple’s buses.
Kansas City became the first major city in the U.S. to eliminate fares in 2020 when the city’s transit authority zeroed out fares for all but its in-house ride-hailing service and its on-demand offering for seniors.
However, budget challenges facing Kansas City’s public transit service prompted the city council to vote to reinstate fares for most riders – though low-income riders, people receiving aid from social service agencies helping veterans and homeless individuals won’t be charged fares.
In New York, State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani – the socialist candidate who won the Democratic Party’s primary in the mayoral race – is calling for an even more expansive plan to end fares in the city.
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“Zohran won New York’s first fare-free bus pilot on five lines across the city,” Mamdani’s campaign platform states. “As Mayor, he’ll permanently eliminate the fare on every city bus – and make them faster by rapidly building priority bus lanes, expanding bus queue jump signals, and dedicated loading zones to keep double parkers out of the way.”
“Fast and free buses will not only make buses reliable and accessible but will improve safety for riders and operators – creating the world-class service New Yorkers deserve,” Mamdani’s platform added.
His campaign website says that “one in five New Yorkers struggle to afford the ever-rising fare,” and added that the “city’s buses are the slowest in the nation.”
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Bus fares in New York City are currently $2.90 for most riders on local, limited and Select Bus Service buses – though express buses cost $7.
Fares are reduced by half for seniors and people with qualifying disabilities to $1.45 or $3.50 based on the service being provided, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
New York City’s Independent Budget Office estimated in 2023 that the annual net cost of providing fare-free local bus service for all riders would total about $652 million.
Of that total, $708 million would come from foregone local bus revenue along with another $91 million in foregone subway trip revenue.
Those costs would be partially offset by $113 million in estimated transfer revenue from subway riders, as well as $33 million in operational savings, leading to a net estimated cost of $652 million.
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