Zohran Mamdani’s plan for free buses is not a pipe dream. Montgomery County, Maryland, made its buses free this year.
By Alexis Goldstein / Truthout / December 1, 2025
During the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic downturn, many people couldn’t pay their transportation costs, and often didn’t. In New York City in 2021, some 21 percent of bus riders did not pay the fare, a figure that grew to 48 percent in 2024. Some local governments, including New York City, responded with reduced or free fare programs.
From 2023 to 2024, New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) ran a zero-fare bus pilot that served around 43,000 riders. The pilot, championed by then-assembly member Zohran Mamdani, offered free trips on one bus in each borough.
To expand this small pilot to universal zero-fare buses throughout New York City is a tall task, with a total 2024 bus ridership of 409 million and 6,300 buses. As mayor-elect Mamdani and his administration look to grow zero-fare buses in New York, they have a stellar example just a few hours south of New York, in Maryland.
The largest free bus program in Maryland by ridership is in Montgomery County, a suburb north of Washington, D.C.
Montgomery County first made its “Ride On” buses free to all riders under 18 in 2019. Then on June 29, 2025, it made all of its buses fare-free for all passengers. The system has a fleet of nearly 400 buses, 80 routes, and provided 19.2 million rides in the 2025 fiscal year. In the three months since free fares were instituted, ridership has increased by 5.4 percent. Phil McLaughlin, General Manager of Transit Services for Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), said an estimated 1 percent to 2 percent of that ridership increase came from instituting zero fares.
One reason Montgomery Country’s City Council adopted the zero-fare program was financial. Montgomery County reduced fares during the pandemic from $2 to $1 and saw lower fare revenues (dropping from $10 million to roughly $1.6 million) overall. When faced with the need to upgrade its fare collection systems to tap-to-pay in order to align its fare boxes with Washington D.C.’s Metro system, it became clear that replacing the fare boxes would cost more than they would recoup: The cost was estimated at $22 million and would take approximately eight years to begin turning a profit. In addition, it cost the county $557,000 annually to collect fares. Montgomery County was faced with either paying police to enforce fares or going fare-free. County Executive Marc Elrich proposed a fully fare-free bus system in his 2026 fiscal year proposed operating budget, and the county council adopted it soon after.
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