Results tagged “Metrocard”

Is leftover change on your Metrocard bumming you out? It's bumming everyone out, according to the Daily News today. Ever since the MTA changed how it formulated the bonuses on pay-per-ride cards, from 20% (buy five trips, get a sixth for free) to 15%, New Yorkers have been accumulating Metrocards with unusable spare change on them, while the MTA has been absorbing that decent chunk of unused change!

The latest public art project to glean some attention can fit right in your pocket... but it's gonna cost ya. The NY Times reports that seven million MetroCards were distributed starting in September, all containing the word "optimism" on the back. The MTA, perhaps seeing it as a way to brainwash unhappy customers, oversaw the project.

The Radio City Rockettes are definitely busy these days—this morning, they will be on a Nostalgia Train! NYC Transit says the 1930's era IND Nostalgia Train will leave the Chambers Street E platform at about 10 a.m. and "will make stops enroute to the D line at West 4th Street, arriving at 47-50 St/Rockefeller Center station." Well, naturally the destination is Rockefeller Center, which is right by Radio City Music Hall, where the Christmas Spectacular is playing.

Someone's created a new iPhone app with straphangers in mind. It's called MetroCost and it "can help you determine how much money you're saving (or losing) with an Unlimited Ride versus a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. All you need to do is swipe across the (picture of a) magnetic strip each time you ride, and MetroCost will do all the math for you." Now, can we get one that tells you when the MTA keeps the change?

It's fare hike time! On Sunday, June 28, the fare hikes for NYC Transit subway and bus —plus MTA Bus, Long Island Bus, and Staten Island Railway—commuters go up to the not-doomsday new fares. Above are the new prices; the MTA will automatically deduct the higher fare from pay-per-ride MetroCards starting at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday. As for the unlimited MetroCards, it's a little more complicated—here's what the MTA says:

Time to start setting aside some of those counterfeit bills we ordinarily unload at the peep shows and save them for the subway! The MTA is reportedly "in a mad dash" to update more than 1,600 MetroCard machines throughout the city because they soon won't be high-tech enough to spot the newest generations of rubber money. A new MTA report warns that without an upgrade, the machines "have the potential of accepting up to $60 million in counterfeit bills annually." And then once the machines become self-aware, who knows what they'll accept as payment? The MTA board will vote soon on a plan to fix obsolete machines electronically, which is expected to cost $3.3 million dollars. The Post reports that physically replacing the slots would cost more than three times as much. And a spokesman for NYC Transit tells us the upgrade isn't just about anti-counterfeiting measures, but also intended to accomodate new bill designs issued by the federal government.

A MetroCard that works like an E-ZPass, allowing transit riders to pass through turnstiles and board buses without any of that messy swiping, could be implemented within two years, says outgoing MTA CEO Elliot Sander. His last day is today (he resigned after Gov. Paterson vowed a "widespread cleanup and cleanout" of the MTA) and he's given some exit interviews defending his record ("trains are on time more often!") and previewing the "contactless" device the Authority wants to replace the MetroCard. Sensors on turnstiles or near bus entrances would detect a card or key-fob-like device and automatically deduct the fare from bank accounts. He says this would improve effeciancy by speeding up crowds of riders waiting to swipe their cards. Of course, the MTA has been considering this for years, and on some stations along the Lexington Avenue line, subway riders can wave a Citibank smart card or MasterCard debit key fob at turnstiles.

Yesterday New York's highest court upheld the felony forgery conviction of a man who was arrested in 2005 for "selling swipes" to subway riders using MetroCards altered with a simple bending technique. How simple? Well, Judge Victoria A. Graffeo tells you pretty much exactly how to do it in the 12-page decision [pdf], which explains how defendant Jonathan Mattocks would bend discarded MetroCards in such a way that the turnstile computers were unable to read one of two magnetic fields on the cards, resulting in a "free" ride.

Now in its fourth year, the MTA says that the EasyPay Xpress Metrocard is picking up steam as an option for commuters who prepay into an account because they don't want to wait at another out-of-service touchscreen machine when their card balance runs out. However, we're not so sure that the MTA has found a cash cow to help with their revenue woes. A spokesman tells today's Post that of the 15,000+ accounts signed up for in 2008, 11,451 of them initiated between March and December. But isn't that basically a consistent pace—maybe even a slowdown from the amount of people who signed up in January and February '08? Maybe the card would really catch on if the MTA took a suggestion lobbed at the program since the get-go—to make the option available for frequent subway and bus riders who use unlimited cards. For some reason, why unlimited ride cards aren't part of the "Easy Pay" program isn't even addressed on MTA's FAQ for the card. In the meantime, unlimited users will continue to suffer the indignity of "Turnstile Groin" as we swipe and wonder if today is our mysterious expiration date.

  

The MTA is dangling an option for commuters to (strap)hang onto fares closer to what they pay now: switch over to MetroCards or pay more. Yesterday they laid out four potential proposals for fare hikes come June: a pair of options if the state adopts the Ravitch Commission suggestions and enacts a payroll tax that would only force a slight increase and another pair of alternatives that includes the Doomsday showdown of a $3 base fare (for one-way trips) versus the $103 unlimited monthly.

In the future, subway travel will be the exclusive domain of the moneyed class, a decadent indulgence enjoyed by only the most privileged New Yorkers. And the future starts now! Today the MTA confirmed that next year the cost of a subway or bus ride could reach $3 for a one-way trip. The MTA faces a serious budget deficit of $1.2 billion next year and wants to increase the overall revenue from fares and tolls by 23 percent.

Have you seen those Jameson ads on the subway? Have they been making you feel like you've had one too many? Seems the inaccurate wording has some straphangers puzzled, specifically the part that reads: "there are 9 wrong ways to swipe your subway card." Let's ignore the fact that no one calls a MetroCard a subway card, and take a look at what one reader had to say:

It's been bothering me for weeks; the Jameson ads that claim that there are nine wrong ways to swipe a Metrocard. False...there will never be exactly 9 ways to swipe a MetroCard.

There's nothing like "nightmare scenarios" to make the MTA's financial crisis seem even more grave. The Daily News explains,"Riders at some 150 subway stations will see service cuts," like fewer staffers, if the MTA does not get a bailout. The Straphangers Campaign worries, "In many cases, the cuts would force riders to enter through scary, unstaffed stations entrances." Plus some stations, like those along the N line, will be shut down over night.

The NY Times has an article about a growing number of people who hold onto Metrocards as collectible "miniature works of art." The swipe card-collecting community has formed its own Yahoo! group (60 deep!) and hunts down cards on eBay. A card with an "NYPD" stamp went for $520 and even an expired student Metrocard sold for $20. The city has fueled the industry since Metrocards debuted in 1994, issuing a steady stream of special edition and limited run cards. Harvey Spiller, one of the collectors the Times talked to said, “What is most unique about the cards is that they form a diary of sorts that tells a history of New York City.” Spiller also collects neckties, yellow pencils, and chewing gum from foreign countries.

Commuters trying to buy Metrocards with credit or debit cards on Monday or yesterday morning faced problems at non-working Metrocard vending machines and, worse, money taken out of their accounts though they were told the transactions didn't go through. The NY Times spoke to NYC Transit, which described the systemwide outages (yes, pretty much all the machines) as unprecedented.

What, you thought this fare hike earlier this year that raised unlimited Metrocard costs and decreased discounting for multiple pay-per-rides, was it? Well, the MTA has a budget gap of about $900 million, so a fare hike is naturally the solution if you don't know what kind of money the city and state will offer up.

The MTA will observe Earth Day (April 22nd) by stocking MetroCard vending machines with five million limited-edition green MetroCards. The cards aren’t “green” in the eco-friendly sense – they’re still not made from recycled material – they’re just, you know, green colored. So they’ve got that going for them. Oh, and some environmental factoids will be printed on the back.

The MTA's various fare hikes are starting to go into effect next month (aka tomorrow). Tomorrow, Long Island Railroad and Metro-North fares are going up. Bridge and tunnel tolls are going up on March 16. And the doozy will be the NYC Transit subway and bus fare hikes which go into effect on Sunday, March 2. Expect tons of confused riders and weary MTA workers on Monday and for the next few weeks.

The MTA unveiled its 2008-2013 Capital Plan, which explained almost $30 billion will be needed to improve mass transit and complete projects like the Second Avenue Subway, the East Side Access plan and more by 2030 (many of those projects will also be delayed). Though the current MTA capital plan doesn't expire until next year, the MTA presented this plan because the state congestion pricing legislation required them to present a plan by the end of the first quarter of 2008.

Everyone wants the subway to be cheaper - some are just a little more desperate about it. Michael Garetano decided to get crafty and rubber cemented a student fare MetroCard magnetic strip to a regular Metrocard.

MTA officials are planning on eliminating the jobs of more than 240 people in order to shave $40 million from its annual budget. The staff reduction will constitute almost one half of 1% in the MTA's headcount, which oversees Metro-North, the LIRR, and NYC Transit. The savings will be recognized through the consolidation of multiple overlapping jobs by creating a centralized control center.

We've heard a lot about how ignoring tickets can lead to a less-than-ideal stay in a city cell, and the Gowanus Lounge has a story on one Brooklyn woman's recent encounter with "the system". A summons for not walking her dog with a leash and a "free" subway ride were her two violations that collided in a perfect storm, landing her at the Brooklyn Central Booking for 24+ hours. Her main gripe was with the conditions of the place (located on Schermerhorn Street between Smith and Boerum Place):

I was going to see a student in Manhattan. I went to the Nevins Street 4/5 station. The Metrocard machine did not take my ATM card and was not accepting bills! No one was in the booth...I decided to pass through turnstile. I heard someone on the platform below, a cop was there with the token booth worker! I wondered if this was a ticket quota trap.

Continue reading "An Unexpected Visit to Brooklyn Central Booking"

With the approval of its budget yesterday, the MTA officially raised the rates on subways and buses, MTA bridges and tunnels, and commuter rails. While the increase in fare was inevitable after both Governor Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg approved of them, the big news today is how the MTA is actually going to bring in extra money with the bonus scheme on the pay-per-ride Metrocard for subways and buses. The base fare for a ride remains at $2, but starting March 2nd, 2008 bonuses will be 15% instead of the current 20%.

Last week we learned that all New York taxis will soon be held to higher fuel efficiency standards; starting next October new cabs must get at least 25 miles per gallon. But the cab changes don’t stop there – in addition to upcoming GPS and touch-screen video technology, the Taxi and Limousine Commission is considering selling an unlimited card for cab riders, which may feature “fare integration” with buses and subways. Over half the city’s 13,000+ cabs are equipped with credit card readers; the TLC expects all of them to take your plastic by spring ’08 – and Metrocards are being proposed as a next step.

The board of the MTA voted this morning in favor of increasing the cost of multiple-ride Metrocards. According to NY1, the outcome of the vote was a foregone conclusion following the public agreement between Gov. Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg that riders needed to pay more to ride subways and buses. The pair have effective control of ten of the 14 board members' votes.

2008 showed up a little early today as a shiny new addition to the New Years Eve celebration in Times Square traveled there by subway from the Bronx, where it was constructed. The 500-lb number "8" will complete the "2008" sign that will be a part of the midnight festivities. Standing at 7 feet tall, the "8" and it's three other numerical companions will be on display through the 19th at the Times Square information...

So much for halting the hike! Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer have both given their approval of the MTA's proposed 4-7% fare hikes for subway and bus riders. The base fare will remain $2, but the unlimited Metrocard prices will increase. The Mayor (from China apparently) said, "Based on the information that my staff and I have received and reviewed over the past few weeks, I am now satisfied that the MTA budget is a...

The MTA has released details for its subway and bus fare hike. While the base fare will still stay at $2, there will be increases for unlimited cards - plus a new two-week unlimited: 1-Day Fun Pass: Increases from $7 to $7.50 7-Day Pass: Increases from $24 to $25* New 14-Day Pass: $47* (*Current 7-Day Pass users who switch to the new 14-Day Pass will actually enjoy a fare reduction.) 30-Day Pass: Increases from...