With just six days to go before the mayoral election, the head of the MTA dumped cold water on Democratic nominee and front-runner Zohran Mamdani’s signature campaign promise to eliminate fares on all of New York City’s buses.

Mamdani has estimated it would cost the city upwards of $630 million a year to replace the money the MTA would lose by nixing bus fares. But Lieber on Wednesday said the price tag would be far higher, especially if the gratis rides increase demand for buses.

“If a lot more people are riding the bus, are we going to need more buses? Are we going to need more bus drivers? Will we need extra depots?” MTA Chair Lieber said on NY1 Wednesday morning. “I want to make sure that people of limited income get priority in this discussion, that we're not just giving a ton of

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