I heard New York, but New York doesn’t heart fare hikes. (Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit)
On Sunday, March 22, at 12:01 a.m., for the fifth time since 2008, the MTA is raising fares. On the one hand, the agency is attempting to overcome years of institutional deflation following the introduction of the unlimited ride cards that left today’s average fare lower in inflation-adjusted dollars than it was in 1996. On the other hand, New Yorkers are facing fare hike fatigue, and it’s unlikely to stop until Albany steps in as the MTA has budgeted for biennial hikes to align roughly with inflation for the foreseeable future. In advance, I’ve answered some frequently asked questions. Let’s dive in.
So what’s the new fare anyway?
It’s complicated. (It always is.) For the second hike in a row, the per-swipe cost is going up. One swipe will now deduct $2.75 from your MetroCard, and there’s an 11% bonus on all purchases above $5.50. The cost per ride for pay-per-ride cards then comes out to $2.48.
I’m not very good at math. What’s 11% of $2.75 and how do I find even amounts?
Have no fear; the MTA’s MetroCard Calculator is here. The key number to remember is $22.30. That’ll get you an even number of rides with the bonus and without any leftover amount. I’m sure we’ll see countless articles about this on various aggregator websites. It’s not that exciting.
How about the unlimiteds?
The 7-day card will cost $31, up a buck, and the 30-day card will jump to $116.50, up $4.50. For those who buy 7-day cards, the breakeven point is 13 rides per week, and for 30-day cards, the breakeven point is 48. If you ride 13 times or more in 7 days or 48 times or more in 30 days, you should be spending on unlimited cards and not pay-per-rides cards. Those totals are down considerably from where they were a few years ago.
Can I stockpile MetroCards?
While I remember stockpiling tokens as a kid with my parents in advance of each fare hike, the MTA no longer allows New Yorkers to hoard underpriced MetroCards. You can spend as much as you want now on pay-per-ride cards, and that money won’t expire. But if you buy a card on Saturday, you must activate it by March 29 to get full value, and you must begin using seven-day cards by April 4 and 30-day cards by April 27 to get any value.
Unused cards can be sent back to the MTA for a refund of the purchase price. Cards that you use in between that grace period gap will shut off at the end of the time period, and you can mail them back to the MTA for a pro-rated refund. For 7-day cards, that’s $4.29 per unused day, and for 30-day cards, that’s $3.73 per day. The refunds generally take around three weeks to process. (For example, if you activate a 30-day card on March 31, it will work until April 27. You can then mail it back for a refund of $7.46.)
I can’t believe there’s another fare hike. What can I do to stop it?
Complain to your legislators; write to Governor Cuomo. Ultimately, the politicians are in charge of transit policy and funding, and if they’re not going to step in, they deserve to hear all about it.
With that, let’s get to the good stuff. After the jump, weekend service charges for 13 subway lines.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Bronx-bound 1 trains run express from 96 St to 137 St. For service to 103 St, 110 St, 116 St, and 125 St, take the uptown 1 to 137 St or 168 St and transfer to a South Ferry-bound 1. From these stations, take a South Ferry-bound 1 to 96 St and transfer to an uptown 1.
From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, March 21 to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, March 22, South Ferry-bound 1 trains run express from Van Cortlandt Park-242 St to 215 St. For service to 238 St, 231 St, and 225 St, take the Bx9 bus instead. From 238 St, walk or take the Bx9 bus to 242 St and transfer to a South Ferry-bound 1 train.
From 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21, and from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday, March 22, 1 trains run every 16 minutes between 137 St and 242 St. The last stop for some 1 trains headed toward Van Cortlandt Park-242 St is 137 St. To continue your trip, transfer at 137 St to a Van Cortlandt Park-242 St-bound 1.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 6:00 a.m. Sunday, March 22, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, March 22 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Bronx-bound 4 trains run express from Grand Central-42 St to 125 St.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 21 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Brooklyn-bound 4 trains run local from Grand Central-42 St to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall.
From 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21, and from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sunday, March 22, Bowling Green-bound 5 trains run local from Grand Central-42 St to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall. 5 trains run every 20 minutes.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Bronx-bound 6 trains run express from Grand Central-42 St to 125 St.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Brooklyn Bridge-bound 6 trains run express from Pelham Bay Park to Parkchester.
From 2:15 a.m. Saturday, March 21 to 4:30 a.m. Monday, March 23, 7 trains are suspended in both directions between Times Sq-42 St and Hunters Point Av.
- Use EFN and Q trains for service between Manhattan and Queens. The 42 Street S Shuttle operates overnight.
- Free shuttle buses operate between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av and Queensboro Plaza, stopping at Hunters Point Av, Court Sq, and Queens Plaza.
From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, March 21 to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, March 22, Flushing-Main St bound 7 trains run express from Queensboro Plaza to 74 St-Broadway. For service to 33 St, 40 St, 46 St, 52 St, and 69 St, take the Flushing-Main St bound 7 to 61 St-Woodside or 74 St-Broadway and transfer to a Hunters Point Av-bound 7. From these stations, take a Hunters Point Av-bound 7 train to 61 St-Woodside or Queensboro Plaza and transfer to a Flushing-Main St bound 7.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, March 22, and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, March 22 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Inwood-207 St bound A trains run express from Canal St to 59 St-Columbus Circle.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, A trains are suspended in both directions between Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd and Rockaway Blvd. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service via 80 St. Howard Beach/Far Rockaway-bound A trains skip 88 St.
- For service to 88 St, take the A to 80 St and transfer to free shuttle buses.
- For service from 88 St toward the Rockaways, take a Brooklyn-bound A to 80 St and transfer to a Howard Beach/Far Rockaway-bound A.
- A service operates between Inwood-207 St and Howard Beach/Far Rockaway.
- Free shuttle buses operate between 80 St and Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd, stopping at 88 St, Rockaway Blvd, 104 St, and 111 St. Transfer between shuttle buses and A trains at 80 St.
From 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, 168 St-bound C trains run express from Canal St to 59 St-Columbus Circle.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 21 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, D trains run local in both directions between W 4 St-Wash Sq and 34 St-Herald Sq.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 21 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Norwood-205 St bound D trains run local from 36 St to DeKalb Av.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Jamaica Center-Parsons Archer bound E trains run express from Canal St to 34 St-Penn St.
From 11:00 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, WTC-bound E trains run local Forest Hills-71 Av to Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av.
From 11:00 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Coney Island-Stillwell Av bound F trains run local Forest Hills-71 Av to Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av.
From 9:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Coney Island-Stillwell Av bound F trains skip Lexington Av/63 St.
From 10:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Jamaica-179 St bound F trains skip 75 Av, Van Wyck Blvd, and Sutphin Blvd.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 20 to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, March 22, Coney Island-Stillwell Av bound F trains run express from Avenue X to Smith 9-Sts.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 21 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, March 23, Astoria-Ditmars Blvd bound N trains run local from 59 St to DeKalb Av.
From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21 and from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday, March 22, Q service is extended to Astoria-Ditmars Blvd.
From 5:45 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, Manhattan-bound Q trains run express from Kings Hwy to Prospect Park.
42 St Shuttle
From 12:01 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Saturday to Monday, March 21 to March 23, the 42 St S Shuttle operates overnight.
14 comments
Ah, I will always have fond memories of hoarding tokens.
SO WILL I!
Stop whinging about fare rises every other year!
Come to London where fares go up 2 – 3 % EVERY YEAR
Not to mention NYC fares are considerably lower than they should be.
Thats London’s problem not Corrupted NY $tate government.
Yes lets race to the bottom! What other worst practices should we adopt???
Eliminating or restricting ‘unlimited’ cards.
That would SUCK!!
But the issue is the SIZE of the increases, not the frequency of the increases.
The basic fare has just gone up by 10%.
If the fare had gone up at the London rate, then compared with two years ago the increase would have been (at the most) just over 6%.
Don’t forget: On the London Underground, you must tap in and tap out. You are charged by the distance you go (zones); however, there is a cap on daily spending*.
* Rides are free after a set £ is spent.
I would rather shoulder a bigger increase now with some assurance that another increase not occur for x number of years.
I personally prefer Steve O’Neill’s Metrocard Bonus Calculator over the MTA’s calculator to figure out MVM-friendly refill amounts needed to invoke the bonus and leave no residual balance. Interface is a bit more utilitarian, but fewer keystrokes to get the same information.
Depending on usage patterns, it’s probably not a bad idea to hold onto extra Metrocards (fare increases or not).
Why so much focus on optimal no-residual-balance amounts? If you’re a New Yorker, you just refill. If you’re a tourist, you probably don’t care enough to find the formula to wind up with an appropriate amount, and the MTA eventually keeps your money (while earning interest on the float in the meantime). This seems to benefit New Yorkers.
Keep the current system, I say! 😉
No, I think there should be more fare hikes. That way, less taxpayer funding is required for operations. If the costs related to fare collection already incurred, it is better to try as best as possible to run break-even. Stop with all of the damned taxes and subsidies already!
My $14.25 motorcycle registration is $42.50 because of the MTA!
You don’t want to whine about how your fees are going to the MTA. Because everyone else can then turn around and look at how much subsidy the roads get. Usual number thrown around is 2 to 3 bucks a gallon more in taxes if the roads funded themselves.