Friday Headlines: Bus Pilot Redux Edition

Fast and free is still in fashion, folks.

State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) has some bold ideas on transit as he and the state Senate look to expand on the successful 2024 free bus pilot in New York City.

After the last pilot had one fare-free route per borough, three routes per borough is the new jumping-off point, according to Gianaris, who is not running for reelection at the end of his term.

“We’re gonna get into the conversation about how much money we have available,” he said.

The outgoing lawmaker suspected the plan would cost $45 million and was also open to a gradual phasing in of free bus routes over a multi-year pilot. 

“It’s a question of the political will and the resources available,” Gianaris said. “We’re juggling trying to fund childcare, we’re trying to fund subsidies for housing, trying to do all these things at the same time. So it’s a question of how far we can go with the resources we have.”

The Assembly’s one-house budget includes $15 million for a free bus pilot with one route in each borough that could operate between six months and one year.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made fast and free buses a campaign promise after launching a free bus pilot with Gianaris during his time in the Assembly. But Gov. Hochul has proven immovable in her opposition to raising taxes or removing a revenue source from the MTA to realize the proposal.

What Mamdani proposed would cost around $700 million, while state lawmakers are eyeing something significantly cheaper. Affordability remains paramount in New York politics, and this could be the compromise everyone is looking for.

“New Yorkers have long been told that the things our families need — universal child care, fast and free buses, well-funded public schools and housing we can actually afford — are out of reach,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Yet the barrier to them has never been resources, it’s been a lack of political will.”

More news:

• Assembly Member Micah Lasher (D-Manhattan) nabbed the endorsement of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he battles colleagues and Kennedys for a congressional seat. (The New York Times)
• Organized labor is reviving a push to mandate two-person subway crews after Hochul vetoed a similar measure last year. (Gothamist)
• State Sen. John Liu (D-Queens) is open to relaxing school class size mandates to aid Mamdani’s budget woes. (The New York Post)
• Protected bike lanes cut storefront vacancies on Manhattan’s Hudson Street. (Crain’s)
• Learn how a politically connected killer driver got away with murder in New Jersey … if you wade through the baseball scores in the lede. (NY Times)
• A federal judge dismissed the bulk of the Gateway Development Commission’s suit against the Trump administration after another court restored the funding it was owed. (The Daily News, amNY)
• The Mamdani administration isn’t sweating a downgraded credit outlook based on the assumption Albany will save it. (City & State)
• State DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez was advocating for roadwork crew safety in Plattsburgh yesterday. (WAMC)
• Erie County Sheriff’s deputies could be eligible to drive their take-home vehicles anywhere in the county, a move sure to draw scrutiny after some high-profile drunk driving mishaps by law enforcement in the region. (The Buffalo News)
• Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Rockland) is touting $31 million in federal grants, including millions for sidewalks, that were delayed by congressional gridlock. (The Journal News)
• Rockland County lawmakers consider Lawler’s proposal to reopen the Indian Point nuclear plant a mistake. (Mid-Hudson News)
• So there’s good news: The snow melted, and there’s bad news: It revealed a ton of dog crap. (The Times Union)
• Speaking of which, Streetsblog’s house band has a song about that.
• Democratic primary candidates in Rochester’s 25th Congressional District see the election cycle as existential. (Rochester Beacon)
• The Capital District Transportation Authority has seen user growth across all it’s sectors. (WAMC)
• Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan wants the city to be the lead agency on the Scajaquada Expressway project and see its funding restored. (The Buffalo News)