{"id":2522776,"date":"2025-12-18T14:09:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mamdani-says-free-buses-means-fewer-assaults\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T14:12:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:12:55","slug":"mamdani-says-free-buses-means-fewer-assaults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mamdani-says-free-buses-means-fewer-assaults\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani says free buses means fewer assaults"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmamdani-says-free-buses-means-fewer-assaults%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2522776&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani defended his policy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-claims-mamdani-makes-de-blasio-look-like-ronald-reagan\/\" title=\"DeSantis claims ... makes \u2018de Blasio look like Ronald Reagan\u2019\">free bus transportation<\/a>, highlighting that eliminating bus fares led to a 38.9% decrease in assaults on bus drivers during a yearlong pilot program. The pilot, running from September 2024 to September 2025 on five <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-philadelphias-proterra-fleet-in-complete-shambles\/\" title=\"Report: Philadelphia\u2019s Proterra Fleet in Complete Shambles\">bus routes<\/a> across all boroughs, showed that fare collection on buses often causes conflicts, and removing fares improves safety for drivers and passengers. Mamdani also noted that the $2.90 fare is unaffordable for 20% of New Yorkers, with many bus riders earning less than $30,000 annually. The free bus initiative resulted in a 30% increase in ridership, especially among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-minority-voters-hit-hardest-by-inflation-some-say-they-will-vote-republican-now\/\" title=\"POLL: Minority Voters Hit Hardest By Inflation, Some Say They Will Vote Republican Now\">lower-income individuals<\/a>. Additionally,<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >making buses fare-free speeds<\/a> up boarding times,enhancing overall efficiency.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Mamdani says free buses means fewer assaults over &lsquo;fare collection&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2441801\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>New York Mayor-elect <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3897135\/now-what-new-york-braces-zohran-mamdani\/\">Zohran Mamdani<\/a> defended his policy for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3434519\/who-is-zohran-mamdani-socialist-candidate-eric-adams-nyc-mayor\/\">free bus transportation<\/a>, citing a lower assault rate on bus drivers.<\/p>\n<p>Mamdani appeared on the podcast <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-QLyhIETnXs\">What&rsquo;s Next? With Trevor Noah<\/a><\/em>  on Tuesday, roughly three months after his yearlong pilot of free bus routes ended in New York. Five routes reached all the boroughs, which didn&rsquo;t charge fares from September 2024 to September of this year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3925740\/doj-struggles-to-build-cases-against-anti-ice-protesters-in-liberal-cities\/\">DOJ struggles to build cases against anti-ICE protesters in liberal cities<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3925721\/bowser-installs-smiths-number-2-interim-mpd-police-chief\/\">Bowser installs Smith&#8217;s No. 2 to take over as interim MPD police chief&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3925291\/israel-iran-role-shooting-death-mit-professor\/\">Israel investigating whether Iran had role in shooting death of MIT professor: Report<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;When we made those bus routes free, after a year, assaults on bus drivers dropped by 38.9% because &mdash; unlike the train &mdash; the act of fare collection on the bus happens on the bus,&rdquo; Mamdani said. &ldquo;So when you eliminate the fare box, you make for a safer experience for the bus driver, for everyone on the bus.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The $2.90 fare is unaffordable for 1 in 5 New Yorkers, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/society\/new-york-city-bus-free-fare\/\">according to a report Mamdani wrote<\/a> in September. Mamdani reported that the average bus rider makes less than $30,000 a year, and the pilot resulted in a 30% increase in bus riders, with the &#8203;&#8203;uptick among those earning less than $28,000.<\/p>\n<p>According to Transport Workers Union member John Paul &ldquo;JP&rdquo; Patafio, half of the reported assaults on buses happen around the fare box.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During the podcast, Mamdani said, &ldquo;I think what it comes back to is that if you pair the making of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-dark-money-giant-tides-poured-millions-into-bail-funds-in-2020-that-helped-alleged-violent-criminals-back-onto-the-streets\/\" title=\"Democratic Dark Money Giant Tides Poured Millions Into Bail Funds In 2020 That Helped Alleged Violent Criminals Back Onto The Streets\">bus free<\/a>, which then also enables you to use any door to board. You don&rsquo;t have to wait behind anyone who&rsquo;s looking for their MetroCard or used to be looking for their coins. You can just board and exit. You speed up the time at each bus stop.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Mamdani: &#8220;Free buses means that less bus drivers will get assauIted so the buses will become safer&#8221; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SilMHJZUAx\">pic.twitter.com\/SilMHJZUAx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EndWokeness\/status\/2001156541550858264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/editorials\/3873120\/how-much-will-mamdani-socialist-experiment-cost-new-york\/\"><strong>HOW MUCH WILL MAMDANI&rsquo;S SOCIALIST EXPERIMENT COST NEW YORK?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/economy-top-mind-voters-races-preliminary-abc-news\/story?id=127141841\">ABC News exit poll<\/a>, Mamdani swept the majority of voters who have lived in New York City for less than five years, with 8 in 10 electing him. However, a majority of voters who have lived in the city for over 10 years voted for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, adults in the United States have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/3496321\/constitution-made-for-capitalism-not-socialism\/\">shifted their opinions on economic systems<\/a>, with 54% of those surveyed in a September <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/694835\/image-capitalism-slips.aspx\">Gallup poll<\/a> reporting a positive opinion of capitalism. This was the lowest approval rating in the six years Gallup has polled on capitalism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mamdani: Free buses cut assaults linked to fare collection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2631,"featured_media":2522777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/z-mamdani.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[11340,69033,56552,35975,8068],"class_list":["post-2522776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-assaults","tag-free-buses","tag-mamdani","tag-public-safety","tag-transportation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/z-mamdani.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522776"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522780,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522776\/revisions\/2522780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2522777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}