Free Buses, Costly Burden: Who Really Pays for Fare-Free Transit in New York City?
By Lev Neymotin, N5Digital, Inc.
From the essay
New York City is considering the policy of eliminating bus fares, following global trends toward fare-free public transit as a measure to improve equity, sustainability, and mobility. While the direct cost of eliminating bus fares is approximately $900 million annually, this policy is likely to cause a spillover subway fare revenue loss of $100–185 million, bringing the total fiscal gap to $1.0–1.1 billion per year. Without structural reform to tax avoidance and fiscal carve-outs benefiting the wealthy and large corporations, the burden of funding such initiatives will disproportionately fall on middle-class households and small businesses.
Adapted from PDF pages 1.