I actually took the time to research this free bus thing. I found out, and this is actually remarkable, that 40-45% of the NYC annual budget or $3.8 billion goes to running the bus system in NYC. 70% to 80% is recovered through fares. That means to offer free buses it would cost the city an addition $2.67 billion to $3.0 billion.
Where does this ass hat think he can come up with that kind of money to fund a free bus system? There were 85,000 millionaires living in NYC in 2023. Each of them would have to pony up another $35,000 per year to fund the free buses. And, btw, the number of millionaires has been decreasing because they are moving out of the city.
One other note, over 51% of NYC tax filers are single. Only 30% are married filing joint returns. NYC is full of very mobile people. Being single makes it easy to pack up and leave.