Should the Bus Be Free? With Yonah Freemark

Should the Bus Be Free? With Yonah Freemark

Author: The War on Cars, LLC August 12, 2025 Duration: 1:00:39

Should the bus be free? That's the question everyone following the New York City mayoral race is asking, with Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani promising to focus on fast, free buses if he's elected to City Hall. Eliminating bus fares is a big idea, but is it a good one? Like a lot of things in politics, there's no simple answer. That's why we asked Yonah Freemark — a researcher in cities, land use, and transportation at the Urban Institute — to walk us through the pros and cons of making the bus free for everyone. Whatever you think about it, the good news is that everyone is talking about bus riders. That's a win in our book.

Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!

***Our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, will be published on October 21, 2025 by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Pre-order now.***

Purchase tickets for our Life After Cars publication party and live show at The Bell House in Brooklyn on October 28th. And find us in other cities for our book tour including San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and more.

The War on Cars is produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation.

This episode was sponsored by Cleverhood and Upway. Listen for the latest discount codes.

Check out Mamala Food by Dani Finkel. (She designed our logo!)

SHOW NOTES

Learn more about Yonah Freemark and his work at the Urban Institute.

Watch Zohran Mamdani on The Breakfast Club

Charlie Komanoff: Free buses would mean faster buses and more riders. (Streetsblog)

Andrew Cuomo has a less ambitious free bus plan. (Gothamist)

Boston has free buses on three routes. (Boston.gov)

New York's free bus pilot. (MTA.info)

This episode was recorded at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio.

www.thewaroncars.org

 

 

 

 

 

 


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
TEASER: Cars Drive Us Apart, Subway Takes Unite Us [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:10
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, becom…
PREVIEW: We Know What We Read Last Summer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:14
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, becom…
BUILDING SOLIDARITY WITH BICYCLES AT VELO-CITY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:10
At this year's Velo-city conference in Gdansk, the theme was "Energizing Solidarity," in honor of the city's history as the cradle of the Solidarity labor movement that helped bring down Communism in Poland. Velo-city is…
PREVIEW: Are Cyclists Too Mean Online? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:21
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows and more, becom…
What Makes a City a Cycling City? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:20
Why have some cities become places where it's easy to hop on a bike for daily transportation needs while others have languished or even been left behind? Is there some sort of magical combination of forces that separate…
John Mulaney, Natasha Lyonne and the Battle of the Bike Lanes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:33
Recently, on an episode of the Netflix show Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, the subject turned to bike lanes. Or rather, the subject was turned to bike lanes by Natasha Lyonne. The actress, writer, director and produ…
TEASER: Live from Minneapolis! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:19
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows and more, becom…
Overcoming the Threat to Black Movement with Charles T. Brown [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:24
Charles T. Brown is a longtime friend of the podcast who was last with us in 2023. We welcomed him back to talk about his important new book, Arrested Mobility: Overcoming the Threat to Black Movement, out now from Islan…
Putting the Trans in Transit with Katelyn Burns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:37
"Why are so many trans people into urban planning?" That's the question independent journalist and co-host of the Cancel Me, Daddy podcast Katelyn Burns asked her Bluesky followers, and she got an overwhelming response.…