It’s the kind of thing democrats should be advocating for everywhere.

I agree with albaby (and you). Yes, this is the sort of things Dems should have been pushing. At the same time, "free" can be problematic. Probably better to charge something for the services, but much less than they actually cost. The difference being made up in the city budget (taxes). Charge $1.50 for the bus, for example. Quite manageable, but not free.

Daycare could be huge. I recall seeing stories over the years of people opting out of work because daycare would have eaten the person's salary, so it wasn't worth it to go to work at all. I'm not sure "free" daycare would be an answer. I can foresee that being overwhelmed quickly. Maybe require companies of more than 50 employees to offer it as a benefit (like health insurance under the ACA; 50 seems like an arbitrary, but round, number). I think the benefits would outweigh the costs pretty quickly.