Bus riders at the intersection of Flatbush and Church avenues in Flatbush, Brooklyn say buses are so unreliable it has created a cottage industry of penny jitneys that cost $2 and illegal livery cabs that are only $3 for riders who simply cannot wait and need to get to work.

But Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani says he plans to change that with his main transportation proposal: to make buses fast and free.

What You Need To Know

• Zohran Mamdani’s signature campaign pledge was fast and free buses, but he also plans to expand bike lanes, in addition to bus lanes, which the current mayor has fallen short on

• Riders in Flatbush, Brooklyn say buses are so unreliable they sometimes have to turn to penny jitneys, or even illegal livery cabs, to get to work on time

• Even if the state finds money for free buses, the federal government has already paused one busway, demanding the city answer specific questions

• The president and the U.S. Department of Transportation have also threatened other transit funding, not to mention the fares back MTA bonds, which would create legal issues

While MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber has expressed skepticism, in a statement, he said he looks forward to working with the mayor-elect. But with Mamdani’s win, transit advocates believe it will happen.

“We’re going to see, you know, major negotiations with the MTA, as well as expansion of the bus priority network all across the city,“ said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director at Riders Alliance. “Starting with the projects that have been stalled, like the one on Fordham Road.”

Fordham Road was supposed to get a busway to increase bus speeds. But the free part may be a challenge: Even if there is funding, the MTA sells bonds backed by fares.

“Investors would almost certainly sue,“ said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. “And say, wait a minute, you pledged us to future bus revenues. You can’t take away those revenues.”

Riders in Flatbush hope Mamdani will prevail. But if they could only get fast or free? Most said they’d pay for faster buses — but others want both.

Mamdani can immediately create bus lanes, and must build 30 miles a year under the city’s streets plan — plus 50 miles of protected bike lanes. The current mayor has fallen short every year, and some not only blame politics, but also a hiring freeze at the city Department of Transportation.

“Mayor-elect Mamdani has committed to fully staffing DOT to give them the leeway to pursue the streets that New Yorkers really deserve,” said Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.

Mamdani didn’t talk about that during his victory speech Tuesday, but he did mention making life better for taxi drivers.

“And it’s about people like Richard, the taxi driver I went on a 15-day hunger strike with outside of City Hall,“ the mayor-elect said. “Who still has to drive his cab seven days a week. My brother, we are in City Hall now.”

He was referring to Richard Chow, whose brother died by suicide when the value of coveted taxi medallions plummeted amid COVID and the surge of Uber and Lyft. Mamdani helped drivers secure debit relief. Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, believes Mamdani can fight the ride-share companies.

“Drivers can finally have a steady, livable income and job security,“ Desai said. “Retirement on this job, benefits on this job, real protections against the existential threat of autonomous vehicles.”

Meanwhile, even if there’s money, fast and free buses may still be a challenge. President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Transportation already paused a busway and threatened other transportation funding.