Beginning last September, five bus routes across New York City became free to ride — one in each borough. This tremendous achievement was hard won, with funding secured in this year’s state budget through the hard work of advocates and legislators like myself, and an agreement from the MTA to execute the program.
This is a good investment that will make transit safer, more reliable, and puts New York in an echelon of cities that are making thoughtful decisions about how to better move people around their spaces.
New York’s free buses are already paying dividends, according to NYC Transit President Richard Davey. In just a couple months, the MTA saw ridership on the five free bus routes increase between 7% and 20% — a tremendous increase that speaks to the continued success of the free bus pilot program and the needs of New Yorkers to have affordable, reliable public transportation.
The pilot program, which will run through at least this coming March, is already bearing fruit and is the foundation for which the future of transit improvements in New York should be built.
Take a moment and think about this success: in just the first few months of this new program, New Yorkers have already built it into their lives. Taking these free buses to work, learn, and worship has become the norm for people along these routes. In a notoriously tough city with a challenging economy, we have provided a little bit of relief — saving a fare and speeding up boarding — and New Yorkers are responding in droves. This is the type of common sense progress we should be fighting for and delivering even more.
Complaints about the rising cost of transit have long been a municipal pastime for New Yorkers as our neighbors continue to get squeezed by rising costs. More must be done to make New York affordable, and addressing the cost of transit is part of that equation.
New York fully subsidizes the cost of many things believed to be a public good — schools, fire protection, and libraries to name just a few. Transit, the lifeblood of our communities and regional economy, should be no different. Our new free bus program is a down payment on the idea that public transit is just as important, and worthy of the same type of investment as other services that benefit the public.
This is not a radical idea — and we are not alone. New York joins a small but growing coterie of communities across the country where free transit is becoming the norm, not the exception. Boston began with one free bus line, and recently expanded the program to three. Kansas City has made their entire system free. Pittsburgh waives train fares in its downtown core.
Leaders know that when more people ride public transit, it is good for the economy, public safety, and the environment alike. Reliable, free transit is just the incentive more riders need to get on board.
All experts agree that when more people ride transit, it becomes safer for passengers at a time when the safety of mass transit is front of mind for many New Yorkers. Fare evasion has also been a longstanding problem facing New York’s transit system, but we have seen instances where the cost-benefit analysis of fare enforcement does not add up.
Additionally, according to the Transport Workers Union, when bus drivers engage in fare enforcement, they often become a target for violence and assaults. Removing that cost barrier helps restore the ridership numbers we need.
This program has the potential to increase bus speeds, as well. With fewer people queuing up to pay fares, passengers will be able to board seamlessly. We have all seen it — you’re in line waiting to get on the bus and someone inevitably is struggling with a MetroCard, or finding the right change, or having to swipe their phone multiple times.
By removing fares as part of the equation, boarding is as easy as walking onto the bus. The time saved by streamlining this process will speed up buses arriving and departing from stops, improving the service experience.
This five-route free bus system is not an end unto itself; it is, with hope, the beginning of a march towards a transit system that’s free for all riders. That new frontier is here for us today and it is already thriving. I encourage all New Yorkers — avail yourselves of one of these free routes and try the next frontier in transit today.
Gianaris serves as deputy leader of the New York State Senate and represents western Queens.
Let’s take a ride on the free bus
6
10
10.01.2024
Beginning last September, five bus routes across New York City became free to ride — one in each borough. This tremendous achievement was hard won, with funding secured in this year’s state budget through the hard work of advocates and legislators like myself, and an agreement from the MTA to execute the program.
This is a good investment that will make transit safer, more reliable, and puts New York in an echelon of cities that are making thoughtful decisions about how to better move people around their spaces.
New York’s free buses are already paying dividends, according to NYC Transit President Richard Davey. In just a couple months, the MTA saw ridership on the five free bus routes increase between 7% and 20% — a tremendous increase that speaks to the continued success of the free bus pilot program and the needs of New Yorkers to have affordable, reliable public transportation.
The pilot program, which will run through at least this coming March, is already bearing fruit and is the foundation for which the future of transit improvements in New York should be built.
Take a moment and think........
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