On Tuesday night, more than a dozen Dutchess county residents and some neighbors from Ulster county testified at the Dutchess County Legislature to call for free buses in Dutchess County.
The New Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, campaigned on free buses for New York City. Residents who addressed the legislature drew comparisons to Ulster County’s free UCAT bus system. In 2022 when the UCAT system became free, ridership increased 40% and one resident pointed out ridership climbed 82% over pre-fare numbers in 2024.
Residents gave a whole host of reasons why Dutchess should follow their sister county’s lead and adopt a fare-free bus program including the extreme cost of car ownership, reducing stigma against people who can’t pay the fare, reducing traffic congestion, and just making the buses more efficient.
One resident Anastasia Siente from Hopewell Junction said fare-free buses are especially better for older adults.
“It would make living in our area so much easier and allow people more independence... It would allow those who are elderly and no longer able to drive to get to their medical appointments without having to call an ambulance. Or utilize Medicaid or the other free medical services in Dutchess County and free those services up for the people that really do need them.”
Kafui Attoh, associate professor of urban studies at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, testified on Tuesday. Attoh told WAMC fare-free buses make rides faster and keep bus drivers safer because they don’t have to stop riders who can’t pay which avoids conflicts and wasted time.
“With fare free transit none of that plays in. People can board the bus from the back door because there is no kind of barrier. The driver becomes simply a driver, not a kind of bouncer in a club or an inspector.”
The Majority Whip from the Dutchess County legislature, Kristofer Munn, told WAMC that the Democratic caucus in Dutchess has long been supportive of public transit.
“Public transportation has a large fixed cost. So we already have buses, we already have drivers. We have all this money we're already spending on these things whether there’s one person on the bus or 20 people on the bus. So by implementing something along the lines of a fare-free system people can get on the bus faster, more people can use the bus, it takes more people off the road, which means less congestion for those who do drive. There’s so many advantages.”
Republican minority leader of the Dutchess County legislature, Michael Polasek, responded to the public comments saying:
“At this time, there is no formal resolution or detailed proposal before the legislature related to making county bus service free…It is also important to recognize that ‘free’ service is not without cost…When considering programs with significant potential costs, it is essential to carefully balance the benefits with the financial impact on all taxpayers.”
Most of all residents said fare-free buses would be a sigh of relief in a stressful time.
