Home MetroCard Are turnstiles swiping MetroCard money?

Are turnstiles swiping MetroCard money?

by Benjamin Kabak

Earlier this week, a reporter from CBS2 e-mailed me with a question. Had I heard, she wanted to know, of straphangers being charged for MetroCard swipes even after the message on the turnstile machine said “Please swipe again”?

My response was no, and I elaborated. When the machine urges a straphanger to “Please swipe again,” the person swiping has to do so at the same machine. Maybe, I speculated, these riders did not know this rule and had moved to a different machine. The reporter informed me that this wasn’t the case, and I wondered if the MTA’s 15-year-old MetroCard technology was beginning to break down.

Today, CBS2’s Kirstin Cole published her story on the MetroCard problems. A few travelers have complained that, in the words of Cole, “they’ve been ripped off, after swiping MetroCards and having fares deducted – yet have been blocked from going through the turnstile.”

There is, however, a minor problem. When CBS2 and the MTA looked into the usage patterns of one of the allegedly ripped off MetroCards, they found no problems. “The MTA investigated Ostow’s card and did find she had been double charged on a cross-town bus,” Cole reports, “but said they couldn’t find any evidence of fare snatching in the subway.” The MetroCard’s owner claims there were no extra charges because the station clerk checked the card and allowed her to enter through the gate after verifying the fault swipe.

So is there a real story here? The turnstiles suffer through around 7 million swipes per weekday. Some are bound to malfunction, and generally, an MTA station staffer can fix the problem in a matter of minutes. It seems to me that the bigger issue concern rider knowledge. If straphangers do not know they can get refunds, if they don’t know to swipe at the same turnstile, they will feel ripped off. But this is not some nefarious MTA plot to secure more revenue. For that, we have fare hikes.

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17 comments

Avi Frisch September 18, 2009 - 6:28 pm

This has happened to me, but usually when it says “swipe again at this turnstile.” You can ask the clerk in the booth to fix it, if 1) there is a clerk and 2) you had no additional money on your card, otherwise, how would you know that it had taken the money in the first place. I suspect this happens often and people just do not know it is happening, and no, it is not acceptable even at a minor error rate, as what is a minor problem for the MTA costs people real money. I bet the MTA would not tell you an occasional turnstile jumpis ok.

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herenthere September 18, 2009 - 7:10 pm

Actually, it has happened to me once. I may have swiped too fast-before the person in front of me went completely through (or even started pushing the turnstile) and then I had to swipe again. I ended up paying twice.

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George September 21, 2009 - 10:57 am

You shouldn’t have to swipe again in that case. When two swipes are made at the same turnstile before either people go through, the turnstile should be able to turn twice to allow both of you in.

Its happened to be a few times (since I am always in a rush) and I never got charged additional fares.

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rhywun September 18, 2009 - 7:21 pm

It’s happened to me a couple times, but I only use monthly cards so instead of getting double-charged I just can’t enter at all. The last times were a few years ago, and there was always a person in the booth who let me through. But now… who knows? What am I supposed to do, stand there for 18 minutes and try again…?

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Sarah C September 18, 2009 - 7:24 pm

Actually this happened to me this morning at Grand Central. I swiped at the same turnstile but didn’t think to ask the station agent to refund the money. My bad.

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Duke87 September 18, 2009 - 8:46 pm

I can think of at least three times where I know this happened to me. One was at Mosholu Pkwy on the (4). Another was at 3rd Av on the (L). The third was at Van Cortlandt-242nd St on the (1). And no, I didn’t switch turnstiles.

I did not know that you could appeal these cases, although for $1.96, is it worth the bother?

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AHT September 18, 2009 - 10:37 pm

I’ve had this happen several times, but when I’m on my way to work/class I don’t have time to go wait for the agent’s help. I can only hope they’re putting all that extra money to good use.

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Kris Datta September 18, 2009 - 11:51 pm

Happened to me once as well. I had a $2.25 card and swiped at 5th Ave. – 59th St. right after getting off the M2. I swiped, Please Swipe Again, Swipe Again at this Turnstile, INSUFFICIENT FARE. I told the guy at the booth and he checked, before letting me in through the emergency exit.

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anonymouse September 19, 2009 - 3:22 am

I’ve seen this sequence happen maybe once or twice: Swipe again, swipe again, swipe again at this turnstile, swipe again, just used. I think at that point I may have just jumped over the turnstile. What can I say, I was young and stupid, and in a hurry to get somewhere.

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gordon September 20, 2009 - 9:06 pm

This has happened to me a number of times. The problem is that the procedure for getting a refund is quite time consuming and difficult. Attendants at the station are never helpful and usually just give you a form to fill out == if they are even present. I have requested refunds numerous times and never actually gottent the refund. However,I have gotten a run around by MTA requesting for more information weeks after a claim was submitted. These are reasons why people have no faith in the system. Its funny, tokens were so much easier, and they always worked.

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Alon Levy September 21, 2009 - 12:24 am

Yes, tokens were much easier, especially when they required transferring passengers to pay twice.

The past isn’t always romantic.

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And now they’re gone: station agents :: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog September 21, 2009 - 12:50 am

[…] of the station with a MetroCard, and the MetroCard Vending Machines will still dispense cards (or eat your money). Those in need of help, however, will have to venture up to 42nd St. and 6th for a 24-hour station […]

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yaron December 30, 2009 - 7:04 pm

this happened to me about 5 times and just today for the first time the guy didnt let me go through even though he cheaked my mertocard he told me to wait. i had to wait 18 min until i could swipe the card agian i say the we need to strike against this ( wow i cant even describe it) and fight the m.t.a

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Pinaki February 17, 2010 - 10:29 am

It happened with me too today – I suspect this happening with me before too but was able to figure out today as I had little balance left.

As usual I went to the lady at the booth she had no means to check the “statement” of the card i.e. when and where were the swipes made. I was given a claim form and the claim process seems to be long and cumbersome. I am leaving the US this week so don’t have time for this and have lost the money for good!

This is unfair and really unfair – why can’t they put a system like that in the path trains? Its way way better!

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Benjamin Kabak February 17, 2010 - 10:30 am

The claim form and process aren’t too long or cumbersome. It takes about three minutes to fill out a form and three weeks to get your refund. Don’t blame the MTA for the fact that you’re not willing to put a slight effort into the process. If the money were that important to you, you would.

I’m sorry if that sounds unsympathetic, but the station agents can’t just dole out dollars to everyone who claims they’ve lost money via a faulty turnstile swipe.

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aj rosenbaum June 2, 2010 - 8:56 am

this has happened to me several times, always when the balance on my card is low (but still more than enough to cover the fare).
it happened once at the wall st. 2/3 station and i could tell from the booth clerk’s reaction and her immediate opening of the door to let me through, that this is an ongoing situation that is clearly known about. the whole thing reeks of scam, or worse, to me.

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Natasha Green December 27, 2016 - 11:57 pm

This happens to me ALL the time. This article was written a while ago…I was go ogling the issue.

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