Mamdani’s “Free Buses” Plan: An Economic Fantasy That’s Failed Everywhere It’s Been Tried

Mayoral candidate Mamdani is promising “free” bus service for all New Yorkers — a plan that would cost taxpayers between $3 and $5 billion annually. He offers no credible way to pay for it. His go-to answer? Raise income taxes on the top 1%.

There’s just one problem: New York City mayors have no authority to raise state income taxes. That power belongs to Albany — and Governor Hochul, whose MTA is already buried under $45 billion in borrowed debt, has publicly ruled out new tax hikes. She’s warned that further taxing high earners could accelerate their exodus from New York — a trend already underway.

Mamdani, of course, has said billionaires “shouldn’t even be in the city.” So, who exactly does he plan to tax? Reporters know the state budget is already bracing for deep cuts as federal aid. They also know a Trump-controlled U.S. Department of Transportation would never bankroll a multi-billion-dollar free transit experiment for a socialist mayor.

Why won’t the press ask the obvious question? What services is Mamdani planning to gut to pay for his free bus scheme? And why are reporters ignoring the long trail of failed fare-free transit experiments in cities that tried — and abandoned — this same fantasy?

Portland, Oregon ended its free bus service in 2012 due to soaring costs and rising crime. Trenton and Denver tried free transit in the 1970s using federal grants — and dropped the programs when the funding dried up and the benefits never materialized. Tucson, Arizona went fare-free during COVID, only to face a surge in drug use, assaults, and homelessness. Fares were reinstated in 2023. Kansas City, once hailed as a “free bus pioneer,” has quietly ended the policy amid declining service and budget pressure.

Today’s press is unable to confront Mamdani with hard questions — and as a result, most NYC voters have no idea what his so-called “free” bus plan would actually cost. The real-world consequences are clear: to fund his free bus fantasy, the city would either have to slash essential services or impose massive tax hikes that would accelerate the exodus of middle- and upper-income taxpayers.

Reporters should be quoting Wall Street leaders and business owners who are already warning: A Mamdani mayoralty could trigger a new wave of wealth and talent fleeing to Florida and Texas. The signs are already there. The exodus has begun. Yet the media remains silent — refusing to ask how a city already on fiscal thin ice can survive Mamdani’s economic illusions.