New York City mayoral candidate and state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani defended his proposal to make all city buses free during Wednesday night’s final mayoral debate, estimating the initiative would cost roughly $700 million annually and arguing it would ultimately benefit the city’s economy and environment.

Mamdani said the proposal “addresses the fact that today, in the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one in five New Yorkers cannot afford the bus fare.” He described the measure as both an economic and social investment, explaining that “It could cost $700 million a year to make the slowest buses in the country fast and free,” but claimed the city would “generate more than double in economic revenue for New Yorkers across the city.”

He added

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