Political expert J.C. Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, recently told CBS News New York the biggest hurdle Mamdani would face in making free buses a reality is the MTA, because it controls the cost of bus fares.
"[Mamdani] would need the support of those members of the MTA, which means you need the support of the state and those officials that appoint those individuals to the MTA," Polanco said.
He added that, because congestion pricing is the law of the land and the transit agency has a massive deficit, he believes the odds of New Yorkers getting to enjoy free buses are "slim to none."
>As mayor, he would need the help of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to raise taxes.
That is a plan, and an explanation of how it will be paid for. We can argue over whether it gets done, but New Mexico just passed universal childcare [1], and Colorado just passed legislation to raise taxes on high earners for universal school lunches [2]. I am so tired of hearing what cannot be done politically on a startup/VC forum where almost everyone's startup or business attempt fails except a select few, and yet everyone still maintains a shared delusion of broad success out of survivorship bias and that "this is the way.". Like, what is broken in the mental model? "It always seems impossible, until it's done."
>Are free buses in NYC feasible?
Political expert J.C. Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, recently told CBS News New York the biggest hurdle Mamdani would face in making free buses a reality is the MTA, because it controls the cost of bus fares.
"[Mamdani] would need the support of those members of the MTA, which means you need the support of the state and those officials that appoint those individuals to the MTA," Polanco said.
He added that, because congestion pricing is the law of the land and the transit agency has a massive deficit, he believes the odds of New Yorkers getting to enjoy free buses are "slim to none."
>As mayor, he would need the help of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to raise taxes.