Zohran Mamdani unable to deliver campaign promise of free bus rides in NYC

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

New NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly admitted to aides in his administration that he'll have to abandon perhaps his biggest campaign promise -- his pledge to make rides on city buses free -- at least during the first year of his term. 

According to The New York Post, Mamdani has resigned himself to the fact that free bus rides will be an impossibility during his first year in office. But he's not saying farewell to free bus fares entirely.   

Mamdani's pledge of no-fare bus rides was one of the most wild-eyed promises made during his unlikely mayoral campaign last year, and one that drew national attention as well as scorn. The mayor touted a pilot program he spearheaded that tested free bus rides in the NYC borough of Queens, and he promised to make city buses "fast and free" in all five boroughs.

But the big free bus rides idea has run into the harsh reality of city and state budgets that are already strained as well as the realities of Empire State politics. Still, Mamdani continues to promise that he while he's abandoning the idea for now, he won't forget about it altogether.

According to The Post, he said he's "absolutely committed to making buses fast and free." News of the setback on free buses came days after he delivered on another campaign promise. The mayor earlier this week unveiled his "racial equity plan" for the city, which codifies his campaign promise to target the white taxpayers of New York City.