Tell Business Insider: Do you want your city to give you free stuff?

7 hours ago 8

Turns out people don't really want free transit.

In mid-May, I wrote about Mayor Zohran Mamdani's free and fast bus promise — one of his buzziest affordability pitches for New York City. The plan to eliminate bus fares is ambitious, set to cost the city and state up to $1 billion, and has the complicating factor that no-fare buses have a track record of being slow.

From conversations with a dozen riders on Manhattan's busiest line, I learned that most New Yorkers would rather shell out $3, as long as their bus arrives on time. Most told me that a reliable commute is a service worth supporting.

After the story was published, a flood of reader comments on the story and social media shared a similar theme. What many people want is a rush hour they can rely on, even if it's a small hit to their budget. A few said that free services would better serve low-income households, while others wrote that "nothing is free" as long as they're paying taxes.

It's an ongoing question in NYC, alongside Mamdani's efforts to expand universal 2-K childcare and bolster the social safety net. Other no-cost services include public libraries — which the mayor is investing heavily in — as well as public schools, parks, bathrooms, pools, and more.

The discourse made us curious. Do people want free things? Should a city provide them? Where is the line between services that cost nothing and ones that are worth paying for?

Tell us your thoughts below.

Allie Kelly is a reporter on Business Insider’s economy team, where she covers how policy and finances shape everyday life.Her latest project, The True Cost of Young Cancer, is an investigation into rising cancer cases in young adults and how the disease upends a patient's career, relationships, and financial stability. She also co-reported a series on America’s retirement crisis, drawing on interviews with hundreds of seniors about money and loneliness. Allie’s daily reporting follows the Federal Reserve, the labor market, and the government workforce.Allie is a frequent guest on CBS News, SiriusXM Business Radio, Fox 5 DC, WGN Chicago, and other outlets, and a contributor to Business Insider’s Big Business video series.Before joining Business Insider, she covered breaking news at The Dallas Morning News and wrote and edited for The Trace and The Daily Tar Heel. Allie is an alum of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Have a tip? Reach Allie via email at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or on Signal at alliekelly.10Her work includes: