Folks forget that the mayor isn’t a dictatorship. Take the “free buses” promise. New York City doesn’t even control the busses… the MTA does which is a state agency. The mayor literally has nothing to do with it.
There was a lot of doom and gloom around his potential election, but reality is likely more that it’s quickly demonstrated that the things promised can’t be delivered and then everyone sighs and moves on.
gaze•1h ago
doom and gloom over the promise of free busses is a wild level of cynicism
abnercoimbre•1h ago
Even my loved ones express skepticism, but upon deeper probing it's because they don't want to be let down.
burningChrome•1h ago
Mamdani took a lot of heat for proposing something that isn't that feasible.
From the article someone linked to below:
Speaking on Oct. 30, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber didn't seem amenable to the idea of making buses free for all riders.
"I want to make sure that people of limited income get priority in this discussion, that we're not just giving a ton of money to people who are riding the 104 on the Upper West Side, where I grew up, the bus on Broadway," Lieber said.
So the guy who might hold sway, hasn't been convinced yet its something he would be immediately on board with. The MTA is also still struggling financially, so losing even more revenue by giving away free bus trips isn't something the MTA will be cool with.
And then of course what nobody wants to talk about is how they would offset the losses in fair revenues? Why increases taxes of course:
Mamdani told CBS New New York back in September that he would pay for free buses, along with his other democratic socialist policies, in part, by increasing the corporate tax rate to 11.5% -- the same as New Jersey -- and instituting a flat 2% tax rate for individuals earning $1 million or more.
"My vision for making the most expensive city in the United States of America affordable is actually one that benefits all of us," he said.
gaze•59m ago
What's your objection to the tax increase. I think people are talking about it plenty and it seems generally non-objectionable.
My brother in christ, this took less than ten seconds to Google ("Zohran Mamdani free bus plan").
chucksta•1h ago
Which says the same thing OP says
>Are free buses in NYC feasible?
Political expert J.C. Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, recently told CBS News New York the biggest hurdle Mamdani would face in making free buses a reality is the MTA, because it controls the cost of bus fares.
"[Mamdani] would need the support of those members of the MTA, which means you need the support of the state and those officials that appoint those individuals to the MTA," Polanco said.
He added that, because congestion pricing is the law of the land and the transit agency has a massive deficit, he believes the odds of New Yorkers getting to enjoy free buses are "slim to none."
>As mayor, he would need the help of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to raise taxes.
toomuchtodo•1h ago
That is a plan, and an explanation of how it will be paid for. We can argue over whether it gets done, but New Mexico just passed universal childcare [1], and Colorado just passed legislation to raise taxes on high earners for universal school lunches [2]. I am so tired of hearing what cannot be done politically on a startup/VC forum where almost everyone's startup or business attempt fails except a select few, and yet everyone still maintains a shared delusion of broad success out of survivorship bias and that "this is the way.". Like, what is broken in the mental model? "It always seems impossible, until it's done."
The “free bus” thing was sort of a classic political move of promising people free stuff and hoping nobody bothers to check if you’d even be in charge of the thing in question. In this case yes the mayor doesn’t control the busses, or any of NYC Transit for that matter.
easterncalculus•1h ago
Yeah, sure, the Mayor of the city where the MTA actually operates just has zero leverage over them. Might as well vote for a sex criminal who won't do anything instead.
These are the comments that remind me of the core user base of out of touch SF people.
burnte•1h ago
> These are the comments that remind me of the core user base of out of touch SF people.
The concept of soft power, where you have power through friendship, influence, and relationships is a surprisingly difficult concept for a lot of folks. It's a nuanced concept and it takes nuance to pull off, but when done right it's far more effective than hard power. Hard power is people do it because you tell them, soft power is they do it because you get them to want to do it. Informal arrangements make some people uncomfortable.
koakuma-chan•1h ago
What's this drama all about? Are free buses bad?
zzgo•36m ago
Concern trolls will ask who's going to pay for the free buses, and wonder if they'll be overrun by the homeless or other vilified residents of New York.
prasadjoglekar•1h ago
The MTA operates in more than just NYC, and the governor controls it.
They raised ticket prices a few weeks ago, fwiw. He has a bully pulpit, but that's about it.
827a•1h ago
People also seem to have forgotten that the Presidency isn't a dictatorship. If everyone is forgetting this; how is it different than it just being a dictatorship?
panic•1h ago
He’s also built a popular movement invested in getting his policies implemented. He may not “control the busses” as an individual government official, but his movement can pressure the people who do.
cmiles8•1h ago
There was a lot of doom and gloom around his potential election, but reality is likely more that it’s quickly demonstrated that the things promised can’t be delivered and then everyone sighs and moves on.
gaze•1h ago
abnercoimbre•1h ago
burningChrome•1h ago
From the article someone linked to below:
Speaking on Oct. 30, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber didn't seem amenable to the idea of making buses free for all riders.
"I want to make sure that people of limited income get priority in this discussion, that we're not just giving a ton of money to people who are riding the 104 on the Upper West Side, where I grew up, the bus on Broadway," Lieber said.
So the guy who might hold sway, hasn't been convinced yet its something he would be immediately on board with. The MTA is also still struggling financially, so losing even more revenue by giving away free bus trips isn't something the MTA will be cool with.
And then of course what nobody wants to talk about is how they would offset the losses in fair revenues? Why increases taxes of course:
Mamdani told CBS New New York back in September that he would pay for free buses, along with his other democratic socialist policies, in part, by increasing the corporate tax rate to 11.5% -- the same as New Jersey -- and instituting a flat 2% tax rate for individuals earning $1 million or more.
"My vision for making the most expensive city in the United States of America affordable is actually one that benefits all of us," he said.
gaze•59m ago
toomuchtodo•1h ago
My brother in christ, this took less than ten seconds to Google ("Zohran Mamdani free bus plan").
chucksta•1h ago
>Are free buses in NYC feasible?
Political expert J.C. Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, recently told CBS News New York the biggest hurdle Mamdani would face in making free buses a reality is the MTA, because it controls the cost of bus fares.
"[Mamdani] would need the support of those members of the MTA, which means you need the support of the state and those officials that appoint those individuals to the MTA," Polanco said.
He added that, because congestion pricing is the law of the land and the transit agency has a massive deficit, he believes the odds of New Yorkers getting to enjoy free buses are "slim to none."
>As mayor, he would need the help of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to raise taxes.
toomuchtodo•1h ago
[1] New Mexico is first state in US to offer universal child care - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45182372 - September 2025
[2] Colorado Proposition LL passes: $12.4M will fund school meals - https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-proposition-l... - November 5th, 2025
JCM9•1h ago
easterncalculus•1h ago
These are the comments that remind me of the core user base of out of touch SF people.
burnte•1h ago
The concept of soft power, where you have power through friendship, influence, and relationships is a surprisingly difficult concept for a lot of folks. It's a nuanced concept and it takes nuance to pull off, but when done right it's far more effective than hard power. Hard power is people do it because you tell them, soft power is they do it because you get them to want to do it. Informal arrangements make some people uncomfortable.
koakuma-chan•1h ago
zzgo•36m ago
prasadjoglekar•1h ago
They raised ticket prices a few weeks ago, fwiw. He has a bully pulpit, but that's about it.
827a•1h ago
panic•1h ago