MTA's free bus service pilot program to end this year

The MTA's free bus service pilot program will be coming to an end this year.

The program provided free bus service on one line in each of the boroughs.

Legislators in Albany did not re-authorize the $15 million pilot program in the new state budget.

Passengers rode for free on the Q4 in Queens, B60 in Brooklyn, M116 in Manhattan, S46/96 in Staten Island, and the Bx18A/B in the Bronx.

Officials say they were looking to expand the program to 15 bus lines around New York City.

"One in five New Yorkers cannot afford the fare today. And that has real life consequences for their ability to go to jobs, interviews, to go to medical appointments," Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani said.

The expansion would have cost an estimated $45 million.

The program was meant to gauge the impact of free bus service on ridership, speed, and service.

The MTA has not released an official end date for the program.

ALSO READ: Earth Day 2024 raises awareness of health risks of plastics, with goal to phase out single-use items

Earth Day was first celebrated in the U.S. in 1970.

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