MTA Paid Bus Ridership Drops 7.7% Amid Free-Ride Talk

Paid bus ridership on New York City's transit system fell 7.7% last month compared with June 2025, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday, linking the drop to widespread public discussion about making buses free.

MTA board documents released at a Wednesday board meeting showed paid monthly bus ridership declining year over year for at least three months in 2026. May's figure was even steeper, showing a 10.4% drop from the prior year. In January, paid weekday bus trips stood at 1.21 million, down 8.1% from the same month in 2025. The comparable June 2025 figure was 1.32 million paid bus riders.

Lieber did not name Mayor Zohran Mamdani directly but pointed to public promises of fare-free buses as a factor that has normalized non-payment. "All of the talk of free buses — it has an impact," he told reporters after the board meeting. He urged riders who can afford the $3 fare to pay, describing it as a civic obligation. "You're just passing along the cost to another taxpayer," he said.

Mamdani has promoted fare-free buses since his campaign, citing a 2023 MTA pilot on five routes. The agency's own review of that pilot found it mainly attracted existing bus riders rather than drawing drivers out of their cars, and cost more than $16.5 million in lost revenue. The Independent Budget Office has estimated a citywide free-bus program would cost roughly $1.1 billion. The MTA has projected budget deficits of $160 million in 2027, rising to $306 million in 2029.

Separately, riders have raised concerns about the OMNY tap-to-pay system, saying they sometimes do not receive the weekly fare cap — which limits charges to $36 or 12 rides — or the free subway-to-bus transfer. Lieber said every OMNY transaction is traceable and urged affected riders to bring their fare medium to the agency directly. "Everything that happens on OMNY is traceable," he said.

Transport Workers Union Vice President Trammel Thompson said the cap's rules — including a required 15-minute gap between taps and use of the same card — are poorly communicated to riders. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, also weighed in Wednesday, calling the MTA's finances a spending problem rather than a revenue problem.