NY governor pours cold water on Mamdani free bus plan

New York Gov Kathy Hochul appeared to cast doubt on New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani s vision for free buses Hochul speaking at the Somos Conference in Puerto Rico noted We re spending a lot of money so I 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 according to the New York Post The newspaper explained Hochul made the remark in reference to funds the state has provided to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority which runs New York City s bus system for major projects But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help Of lesson we can Hochul reportedly added Saturday MAMDANI S SOCIALIST CITY-RUN GROCERY PLAN FACES BACKLASH FROM HOCHUL 'I FAVOR FREE ENTERPRISE'The comments come about two months after Hochul endorsed Mamdani in the governor s race Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani's campaign for comment I continue to be excited at the work of making the slowest buses in America fast and free the Post quoted Mamdani as saying during an unrelated press conference on Monday And I appreciate the governor s continued partnership in delivering on that agenda of affordability Mamdani a Democratic socialist has floated raising taxes on the city s wealthiest residents and corporations to fund free buses and universal childcare WASHINGTON POST BLASTS MAMDANI'S FREE BUS PROPOSAL WARNS IT WOULD ATTRACT VAGRANTS AND DRUG ADDICTS'Under Mamdani s plan the personal income tax rate on the city's wealthiest would rise by percentage points while the corporate tax rate would increase to match New Jersey s rate he commented on Fox News' The Story in October I've reported time and time again that I believe these are the majority straightforward procedures that we can truly fund universal childcare making buses fast and free and I've noted that the two clear means to do so raising personal income taxes on the top by and raising the corporate tax to match that of New Jersey's corporate tax of Mamdani commented Now if there are other means to raise this money to fund this agenda the bulk major thing is that we fund the agenda It at present costs to ride a bus in New York City while express buses are per ride However the MTA has been trying to combat fare evasion for years The MTA reported last year that In we lost about million to fare evasion on buses Fox News Digital s Sophia Compton contributed to this summary