Lamont Eyes Free Transit for Veterans and All Connecticut

Ned Lamont wants free bus rides for veterans, and he’s not ruling out making them free for everyone.

The governor made the comments Thursday evening at the Connecticut Mirror’s “In the Room” event, speaking with host John Dankosky about a range of issues from transit funding to education spending. The conversation covered some of the session’s most contested budget priorities as Lamont’s office and the legislature head toward what promises to be a complicated spring negotiation.

On transit, Lamont reiterated his support for a $3.5 million proposal to provide free and reduced bus fares to veterans and K-12 students. If the legislation passes as expected later this year, Connecticut would become the first state to offer free bus passes to veterans statewide, usable anywhere in the state’s system, not just on commuter lines or designated routes.

Veterans and their advocates have pressed both the governor and legislators for years on this issue. Many veterans rely on public transit to reach work, job interviews, food pantries, and medical appointments. Advocates also point to the social dimension: getting to recreational activities and community gatherings can meaningfully improve mental health outcomes for veterans who are isolated.

“Anything I can do for the veterans, it’s an enormous priority for me,” Lamont said. “This is a priority for me and I’d like to get it over the finish line.”

The governor also looked back to the pandemic period, when Connecticut briefly offered free bus fares to all riders. “More people took the bus, less cars, and it just made life a lot more affordable,” he said. That program expired in 2023, with Lamont pointing to federal pushback and cost concerns as the reasons it ended after roughly a year.

When Dankosky pressed him on whether he’d like to see free fares for all riders, the governor didn’t exactly shut the door. He brought up Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor who built his campaign around free buses, saying simply: “Mamdani likes the idea.” He followed that with a pointed observation about the current state of the system. “You guys look around, two-thirds of these buses are two-thirds empty, two-thirds of the time,” Lamont said. “Why aren’t I taking care of people?”

For now, the veterans and students proposal sits in the Appropriations Committee’s midterm budget document, awaiting negotiations with the governor’s office. Most of the friction involves other budget areas rather than the transit provisions themselves, which leaves some room for optimism that the fare program survives the process.

Lamont also addressed education funding, which has emerged as one of the sharper points of disagreement in this legislative session. The state has accumulated roughly $500 million through its fiscal guardrails designated for what Lamont called “affordability” purposes. He had originally proposed directing some of that money toward a $200-per-person tax rebate timed to land just before Election Day in November.

But on Thursday he suggested education could absorb a significant share of those funds instead. “My instinct is, a lot of that is going to go to education,” he said, whether distributed to municipalities or sent directly to schools. He did not specify amounts or a mechanism for distribution.

The education funding debate has been grinding through the legislature for months, with municipalities and school districts arguing the state hasn’t kept pace with rising costs. Lamont’s comments suggest he may be looking for ways to move money toward schools without abandoning the broader affordability framing he’s used throughout the session.

Thursday’s event offered a relatively candid look at where the governor’s head is as the session enters its final stretch. He seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the veterans’ transit piece and more cautiously open on the broader free-fare question. On education, the signals were encouraging for advocates, though the specifics remain unresolved.

The Appropriations Committee’s proposal still has a long road through negotiations before anything becomes law. But the governor left little doubt about which items he considers worth fighting for.