"About five hours and 350 miles. That's the drive some lawmakers and their staff face to get to Albany and the one many made this morning. Why the hell would someone do that to themselves on a perfectly good Wednesday morning? We got some bills to pass, baby, that's why. It's 2026, and the New York state Legislature is back in session. And what a busy session it promises to be: We have Gov. Hochul facing an election challenge from the left and the right."
"We know free buses work. Mamdani knows it, Hochul knows it, and so do the members of the state Legislature who witnessed the New York City-wide free bus pilot championed by state Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Queens) and Mamdani during his time in the Assembly. However, there is some trepidation around the cost, which hovers around $1 billion. There are also concerns about equity for the rest of the state, parts of which struggle for any kind of transit system - let alone a free one."
Lawmakers and their staff travel about five hours and 350 miles to Albany to attend the 2026 legislative session. The session features Governor Hochul facing election challenges, Mayor Zohran Mamdani lobbying at the statehouse, and high-profile actions by state senators. Transportation safety for pedestrians and cyclists and public transit affordability and availability are pressing policy questions. Free buses have been shown to work through a New York City-wide pilot, but statewide implementation raises cost and equity concerns, with estimates near $1 billion and uneven transit access across regions. Lawmakers could coordinate to expand fast, free buses while improving statewide transit.
Read at Streetsblog
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