Comments on: New fares now in effect

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:31:26 +0000

The 15% discount is shockingly regressive. How many times have I seen poor people (how could I possibly know that) feeding $2 into the machine, basically throwing away 30 cents each time?

I think it’s the city’s way of subtly taxing tourists as well.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:06:05 +0000

You shouldn’t include the free transfers. The MTA isn’t doing people special favors by letting them transfer from one bus to another for free; it’s fulfilling its job giving them access to transit. Without double-counting free transfers, the real fare is way higher than $1.56: just using an Unlimited Monthly the average number of times gives a fare of $1.59!

By: Raising the fares but not telling anyone :: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:23:23 +0000

[...] we all know because we pay attention to these things, the MTA raised their fares yesterday at 12:01 a.m. Throughout the system, stations featured SubTalk posters with the new fare [...]

By: JMP

JMP — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:24:38 +0000

Working from home, I don’t ride the trains that often anymore. But I had to go on an excursion yesterday. I had forgotten the details of the fare hike, but remembered it was happening yesterday, so I went to the MTA website.

Would it have killed the MTA to have posted a prominent link on their website about the new fare info, with a clear label? Alternately, was it foolish of me to assume that mta.info would be the quickest and easiest way to find the details of the new fares?

By: crescent

crescent — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:40:34 +0000

Well, Ben, that would be too much to ask a New Yorker wouldn’t it? To acknowledge when their transit system is giving them a deal?

By: crescent

crescent — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:30:03 +0000

Ryan, I’d offer it for $50 on craigslist real quick. The market is already flooded with them over there.

By: Benjamin Kabak

Benjamin Kabak — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:48:31 +0000

I’ll post more about this later in the week, but if you mail them back to the MTA, you’ll get a refund. As shocking as it sounds, that actually works.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:19:35 +0000

I think they should just get rid of the bonuses. I know many people like it because it supposedly rewards more frequent riders of the subway, but that’s what the unlimited cards are for. Getting rid of the bonuses would just make things a lot simpler and more transparent. They make people think the fare is higher than it actually is — most people don’t realize how much they’re saving with the bonus, and they complain when the fare goes up 25 cents, but wouldn’t complain as much if the base fare stayed $2 but the bonus was eliminated. I don’t know how much that would raise income for the MTA overall, but an extra 25 cents is less than 15% of the $2 fare. Of course, the 15% was only on purchases $7 and up, so the MTA isn’t losing 15% of all of their pay-per-ride revenue, but it still would probably be a significant amount.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:43:00 +0000

I have two $81 TransitChek cards in my sock drawer cause I’ve been out of town on business and haven’t been able to use them… not sure what the heck to do about them. Won’t be back working in the city for another two weeks!