There are no free rides to be found

To the editor:

There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch — or in this case, a bus ride.

In ancient Rome, government attempted to curry favor with the masses by offering free bread and circuses. Now we have a call for free NYC Transit bus rides by state senate deputy majority leader Michael Gianaris and Assemblymanr Zohran Mamdani. 

They would have commuters ride buses for free for four years. Will this apply to $6.75 express buses as well? 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority currently faces a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year financial deficit. This does not include future wage increases that the Transit Workers Union will ask for when their current contract expires in May. 

The MTA only budgeted 2 percent per year for the next contract. The union will obviously ask for far more just to keep up with inflation. 

The MetroCard, introduced in 1996, affords a free transfer between bus and subway. Prior to this, riders had to pay two full fares. A majority of residents purchase either a weekly or monthly NYC Transit bus/subway Metro or can use OMNY. New York City offers a “fair fares” program to help New York commuters with low incomes manage transportation costs. Using the fair fares MetroCard, eligible city residents receive a 50 percent discount on subway and bus fares. 

Financial viability of the MTA has always been a four-way dance between fare box revenue, city hall, Albany and Washington.

All we ask in return is a reliable, safe, on-time trip — and as periodically necessary, a reasonable fare increase that doesn’t exceed the current inflation rate. 

There also needs to be real legal consequences to those who don’t pay their way and contribute to fare evasion, which will reach $500 million in 2022. 

There is no such thing as a free lunch — or in this case, ride for everyone who uses mass transit.

Larry Penner