 Higher Fares March 2, 2008
On Feb 28, 1:36 pm, trasit.comme...@g-usenet.com wrote:
> Spoke with MTA about rules for riding using lower fare, existing cards
>
> -Unlimited - even if the 7/30 day term goes past March 2 customers can
> use the cards until the full term expires
>
> -As long as you buy such a card before March 2, y ou can begin to use
> it up to March 10 and get full value at the lower rate.
>
> -Pay Per Ride
>
> You can load up before March 2 (total value on one card no more than
> $80.00
Curiously, that isn't so -- it was a balmy 41deg. this afternoon, so I
walked over to Journal Square to load up my MetroCard before tomorrow
(and on the way back, there were snowflakes at 3:04 -- while the radio
was telling me it was 45deg. in Central Park). It had $21 on it,
because I've had to use it on PATH several times because PATH refused
to sell me a new QuickCard last month (I last bought a 20-ride in
November, so if I go into the city about once a week, it takes a
couple of months to use it up; when I needed a new one, the machines
were gone from the PATH stations and the newsstand only had 10-trip
cards and would only take cash).
So I inserted the card and asked it to add $80 (invalid amount), $70
(invalid amount), or $60 (ok) -- but if it was willing to amount to
$81, how much more would it accept? So I counted down from $69, and it
accepted $65, which, with the 20% or $13 bonus, means my MetroCard now
has $96 on it.
(But it means that until my free SmartCard arrives, probably next week
some time -- PATH is giving them to the first 50,000 people who
register at the website -- I'll be paying $1.40 instead of $1.30 for a
PATH trip. (Which means a trip into the city with van, PATH, and
subway _still_ costs more than driving: $8.64 vs. $8 for the tunnel).
(And even more when this last 20% card is used up and the MetroCard
goes down to 15% bonus.)
Steven's calculator will come in very handy. He could market the
program to be downloaded to your handheld whatsit devices ...
> and get the 20% bonus versus the 15% bonus. MTA will not "take
> back" the 5% somehow -- once the value is on the card it stays there.
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