An even bigger NYC subway system? Why transit experts say Mayor Mamdani should focus on that rather than fare-free buses amNewYork

"The report, titled A Better Billion, the NYU Marron Institute's Transit Costs Project, makes the case to Mayor Zohran Mamdani that filling out many empty patches of the MTA subway map would be a far better use of the estimated $1 billion-a-year it would take to fund his proposal to eliminate fares on city buses. It presents a vision for 12 separate projects that would extend the subway by 41 miles and add 64 new stations in every borough except Staten Island."

"Eric Goldwyn, the report's lead author and a member of Mamdani's transition committee, told amNewYork that the plan is in line with Mamdani's frequently stated wish to enact big, sweeping changes through government. During Mamdani's inauguration, he talked about the desire for audacious and expansive plans, and he has spent a lot of time saying that he's tired of people thinking that government can't do big things, Goldwyn said. I think this honors that more than free buses do."

"The authors contend that expanding the subway could also encourage the development of 167,064 new housing units along the new lines, advancing Mamdani's proposal to build 200,000 new affordable housing units. Transportation and land use are complementary things, and free buses and housing don't really fit together, Goldwyn said. So I thought this is a much better, more integrated approach to the housing and transit issues than Mamdani had."

A proposed strategy prioritizes vastly expanding the NYC subway system rather than funding fare-free buses, allocating roughly $1 billion per year. The vision outlines 12 projects to add 41 miles of track and 64 stations in every borough except Staten Island, targeting transit deserts in southern Brooklyn, Manhattan's East Side, eastern Queens, and east–west connections in the Bronx. The new lines would fill empty patches of the MTA map and improve connectivity. Expansion could encourage development of about 167,064 new housing units along the lines and support broader affordable housing goals. The approach treats transportation and land use as complementary and aims for an integrated housing-and-transit strategy over standalone fare-free bus policy.

Read at www.amny.com