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Mayor Zohran Mamdani rode into City Hall this year on a promise to make buses “fast and free.” But MTA Chair Janno Lieber, who controls the city’s transit system, is expanding a program that slows some buses down in order to ensure everyone on board paid the $3 fare.

The agency’s fare enforcement “EAGLE” teams are ramping up an initiative where they halt buses for about five to 10 minutes while they scan riders’ phones or OMNY cards to check if they paid. Those who get busted can face a fine.

Lieber has called this stop-and-check practice “European-style” fare enforcement. He’s said it will be the main way to enforce fares on buses once MetroCard and coin payments are phased out on buses later this year.

More than 40% of bus riders skip the fare, costing the agency upwards of $300 million annually, according to an MTA estimate released last year.

The enforcement highlights a long-simmering tension between the mayor’s office and the state-run MTA. During a NY1 appearance days before November’s general election, Lieber poured cold water on Mamdani’s free bus plan, saying he didn’t want the MTA to be “giving a ton of money to people who are riding the M104 on the Upper West Side where I grew up.”

Halting buses also threatens to undermine the mayor’s push to speed up service across the city. Fare-paying riders like 30-year old Derrick Holmes aren’t fans of the crackdown, either. He said he was on the B44 in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens earlier this month when enforcement officers stopped the bus to check if everyone paid.

“It just felt like a weird kind of security theater. … It just took up everyone’s time,” said Holmes. “What's the point of public transit? It's to get people places quickly and reliably. But when MTA is forced to prioritize fare enforcement it's almost self-defeating. If the bus is standing still for five minutes to make sure everyone paid — it's like, what were we paying to do?”

Mamdani spokesperson Jeremy Edwards said the administration continues to push for free buses, and said it’s not fair to punish people who can’t afford to ride.

“The fact that some people are unable to afford bus fare highlights the affordability crisis in our city,” Edwards wrote in a statement. “Whether you are trying to get to work or drop your child off at daycare, you shouldn't have to choose between paying for the bus or paying your bills, which is why the mayor remains committed to making our buses free and our transit system more affordable for all New Yorkers.”

MTA representatives did not respond to requests for comment. But NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said during an MTA board meeting last month that “paying customers have long said that they find it incredibly frustrating when they see other people who do not pay the fare.”

Some New Yorkers said they’ve remained confused about the status of free buses since Mamdani’s election win last year.

“It just feels very like it's aggressive, and it also feels really crazy,” said Jesse Crozier, a B44 select bus rider who said their commute was disrupted for 15 minutes earlier this month when EAGLE team officers checked if everyone paid.

“Mamdani's free buses program is trying to get off the ground, and now we have enhanced enforcement of fare evasion,” said Crozier, 41.

MTA rules allow people to get off with a warning the first time they’re caught beating the fare. But a second offense can come with a $100 ticket, which Crozier noted only makes paying the next fare more difficult.

“It's like, if you can't pay the fare, how are you supposed to pay $100?” they said.

NYC transportation news this week

Crumbling bridges. Two century-old bridges above the Newkirk Plaza B and Q station in Brooklyn have grown so corroded that city officials have begun questioning their structural integrity. Their sorry state highlights a growing challenge: Much of the city’s infrastructure has outlived its useful life, but repairing it threatens to be highly disruptive for daily commutes.

LIRR strike update. Gov. Kathy Hochul warned Long Island commuters yesterday to prepare to work from home next week if Long Island Rail Road workers walk off the job, which could happen as soon as Saturday.

Falling debris. On two separate occasions over the past week, chunks of debris fell onto the crowded roadway that connects the George Washington Bridge and the Cross Bronx Expressway.

World Cup transit price cuts. The governors of New York and New Jersey announced that round-trip shuttle bus fares for getting to soccer matches at MetLife Stadium are dropping to $20 each, from $80 originally, while NJ Transit rail fares are dropping to $98 each, down from $105 most recently and $150 before that.

NBA Finals transit nightmares. If the Knicks make it to Game 5 or 6 of the NBA Finals, one of those games could take place at Madison Square Garden at roughly the same time as a World Cup match at MetLife, creating a major challenge for New Jersey-based fans trying to get into Manhattan.

A more fragrant NJ Transit. The transit agency said it’s switching to a lavender-scented cleaning solution for its stations.

Curious Commuter

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Question from Brian in Brooklyn

What makes the World Cup different from other sold out shows at MetLife? The stadium has a set capacity so I’m confused about why the logistics are different from concerts or football.

Answer

The biggest difference between this summer’s World Cup matches and a Giants game or Beyonce concert is FIFA’s involvement. New Jersey officials said the organization mandated strict security measures for fans getting in and out of MetLife Stadium, including a requirement for those riding NJ Transit trains or shuttle buses to prove they have game tickets before boarding. The extra security comes with extra costs, which NJ Transit leaders passed along to attendees in the form of what are now $95 train tickets. Garden State officials have repeatedly said they want to avoid a repeat of the 2014 Super Bowl in the Meadowlands, when thousands of fans were stranded near the arena as NJ Transit trains struggled to take them home. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri has said he will only sell 40,000 train tickets to each game — enough to cover about half the attendees — in order to avoid a repeat of that fiasco.