Eric Goldwyn Debates Free Buses

Focusing on speed gains is the right priority. I think there are other ways to get there without getting rid of the fare. I think the cost of $700 million that the candidate put out there is quite low. When I looked at the numbers from 2019—and I get that’s not where we are currently—fare revenue was about $1.4 billion in 2025 dollars. So that cost is actually quite a bit more, and it’s an annual cost. Every year we have to come up with that, and I think there are other things we can do to get our buses to be faster. And, if we’re going to spend a billion dollars a year—let’s meet in the middle—I think there are just better opportunities for expanding transit capacity with subway extensions, for instance, that would just make the city and provide greater access to all New Yorkers.