MTA Loses $31 Million in Bus Fares as Nearly Half of Riders Skip $3 Payment
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 14
MTA Loses $31 Million in Bus Fares as Nearly Half of Riders Skip $3 Payment
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 14
Summary
$31 million in bus fare revenue vanished in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first six months versus the same period of 2025, while paid bus ridership fell nearly 8% in June from a year earlier.
Nearly half of bus riders now evade the $3 fare, and MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and Transit Workers Union Local 100 say Mamdani’s past “free bus” campaign rhetoric helped normalize nonpayment.
Bus operators are instructed not to confront fare evaders after past violent attacks, and union chief John Chiarello said the current wave is the worst drivers have seen, extending beyond low-income riders.
The fiscal strain lands on an agency already facing a projected $300 million deficit next year; Manhattan Institute fellow Nicole Gelinas said fully free buses would forgo about $1.1 billion in annual fare revenue.