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New Yorkers may soon be able to hop on a bus without tapping a credit card or OMNY card—at least for a few weeks.
According to the New York Daily News, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing for a five-week pilot program that would make buses free during this summer’s FIFA World Cup, turning one of his signature campaign promises into a high-profile test run just as the city prepares for a massive influx of visitors.
According to people familiar with the discussions, the proposal would eliminate bus fares across the five boroughs from mid-June through mid-July, when matches are scheduled at MetLife Stadium in nearby New Jersey. More than a million visitors are expected to travel to the region during the tournament, creating what the mayor’s office sees as an ideal moment to showcase a more accessible transit system.
The catch, however, is that the city doesn’t control bus fares—the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does. That means the proposal hinges on cooperation from Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers, who would likely need to sign off on funding and policy changes. The MTA has long been wary of eliminating fares, noting that bus revenue helps support its $21 billion annual operating budget and that officials are trying to curb fare evasion.
Mamdani has framed free buses as both an affordability measure and a way to reshape how visitors and locals move through the city during the global tournament. One in five New Yorkers struggles to pay for public transit, according to a 2024 report by the Community Service Society, and supporters argue that a no-fare system could ease financial pressure while encouraging more riders to ditch cars.
The mayor isn’t starting from scratch. In 2023, as a state assemblyman, he backed a limited free bus pilot, subsidizing one route in each borough. The program increased ridership and reduced assaults on bus drivers, according to MTA data, though it didn’t speed up service—an ongoing challenge for a system that averages about eight miles per hour.
Still, not everyone is convinced that free buses are the best use of funding. Some transit experts say the hundreds of millions of dollars needed annually could instead be spent improving service reliability or expanding subway access in underserved neighborhoods. Governor Hochul has also signaled reluctance to fully embrace the idea, leaving the World Cup pilot squarely in political limbo.
Whether the plan moves forward or not, the conversation shows how seriously City Hall is treating the tournament’s potential impact. Mamdani recently appointed former campaign manager Maya Handa as the city’s first “World Cup czar,” tasked with coordinating preparations for what will be the men’s World Cup’s first U.S. return since 1994. If the free-bus concept gets the green light, it could turn the daily commute into one of the city’s biggest fan-friendly perks of the summer.