With a fleet of 6,000 vehicles transporting 1.4 million passengers daily, the NYC bus system has the highest ridership in the country. Yet, one in five New Yorkers struggle to afford the $2.90 fare. The buses are also the slowest in the nation. Zohran vowed to eliminate city bus fares while also making them faster by upgrading the city’s transit infrastructure. What will it take to achieve this?

Making buses free would cost between $800–$900 million a year. Zohran plans to pay for this by increasing the corporate tax to 11.5% and instituting a flat rate tax of 2% on those earning over a million dollars. NYC’s buses are operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which is governed by a board largely nominated by New York governor Kathy Hochul. As mayor, Zohran would need the green light from Hochul to raise taxes. However, the MTA’s CEO Janno Lieber has already voiced dissent, and Hochul has also stated she “cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways.”

Implementing free buses would also require Zohran to address the $49.2 billion outstanding debt facing the MTA. Currently, a whopping $2.52 billion, i.e., 14% of the MTA’s annual operating budget is allocated to debt servicing to repay the vultures on Wall Street. The MTA faces a $432 million budget shortfall this year, and US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has threatened to further withhold funding. Instead of trying to cut deals with Albany and Washington, Zohran should rely on the organized power of the working class.

The MTA is organized by the Transport Workers’ Union, which, as the world’s largest transit union, has enormous potential leverage. At the drop of a hat, it can call on its 44,000 members to pump the brakes on all MTA buses and trains. The Taylor Law’s “no-strike clause” punishes public-sector strikes, but this did not stop NYC’s transit workers from striking and winning in 1980! Zohran should tear down the Taylor Law in practice and expose it for what it is—an undemocratic attack on workers’ rights.

By calling on MTA employees to organize action committees, to coordinate across sectors, and to withhold their labor when necessary, Zohran has the potential to make not only buses, but all public transit free.