Bus-fare evasion is just the start of Kathy Hochul’s looming MTA cash woes
Last week, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Janno Lieber pointed to one culprit behind the steep deficits that loom for the state-run transit system: Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s free-bus push, which spurred more people to stop paying. Kathy Hochul will have to use her leverage to neutralize the mayor’s rhetoric — and to fix the upcoming $22.8 billion MTA budget for 2027, whose woes aren’t Mamdani’s fault, but hers.
Reported by 1 outlet — New York Post. See all sources ↓
Last week, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Janno Lieber pointed to one culprit behind the steep deficits that loom for the state-run transit system: Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s free-bus push, which spurred more people to stop paying. Kathy Hochul will have to use her leverage to neutralize the mayor’s rhetoric — and to fix the upcoming $22.8 billion MTA budget for 2027, whose woes aren’t Mamdani’s fault, but hers. Lieber is right that bus-fare evasion is a crisis: With more than 48% of riders not paying, it’s nearly five times the rate of subway evasion. Yet the NYPD and the MTA had been making progress (respectively) via uniformed and civilian enforcement of fare rules: Evasion inched down from above 51% two years ago, before Mamdani won office last fall.
Read the full report at New York Post ↗
Why it matters
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- What's the story?
- Last week, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Janno Lieber pointed to one culprit behind the steep deficits that loom for the state-run transit system: Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s free-bus push, which spurred more people to stop paying. Kathy Hochul will have to use her leverage to neutralize the mayor’s rhetoric — and to fix the upcoming $22.8 billion MTA budget for 2027, whose woes aren’t Mamdani’s fault, but hers.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 5.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 7m ago.
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Bus-fare evasion is just the start of Kathy Hochul’s looming MTA cash woes
Sources1TypeCoverageNew York Post