New York City elected officials came together Friday in support of commuters to propose a legislative package they say will significantly help with transportation across the city.
The legislative package Fix the MTA aims to make buses completely free over four years as one of its proposals. The bill also rejects increasing fares and would freeze the $2.75 fee New Yorkers across the boroughs are currently paying for their commute. The legislation would cost nearly $245 million a year.
“It is way passed time for us," says Rep. Jamaal Bowman. "We have the money. We have to get this done.”
Another initiative in the bill is creating six-minute headways for subways and a 20% increase in service across the bus system.
MTA spokesperson Kayla Shults provided the following statement:
“Most transit customers are benefitting from better than 6-minute headways on subways already and on-time performance just hit a 10-year high. The mission to provide faster, cleaner, safer service is dramatically improving customer satisfaction and will benefit from Governor Hochul’s budget that provides relief from looming deficits.”