| Location | New York City |
|---|---|
| Launched | 1993 |
| Technology | Magnetic strip |
| Operator | Cubic |
| Manager | MTA |
| Currency | USD |
| Stored-value | Pay-Per-Ride |
| Auto recharge | EasyPayXPress |
| Unlimited use | Unlimited Ride |
| Validity | New York City Subway MTA Regional Bus Nassau Inter-County Express PATH Roosevelt Island Tramway AirTrain JFK The Bee-Line System Staten Island Railway Hudson Rail Link |
| Retailed | Vending machines Stations Online MetroCard buses and vans Authorized merchants |
| Variants | SingleRide Student Reduced-Fare Employee ID |
| Website | http://www.mta.info/ |
The MetroCard is the payment method for the New York City Subway rapid transit system; New York City Transit buses, including routes operated by Atlantic Express under contract to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA); MTA Bus, and Nassau Inter-County Express systems; the PATH subway system; the Roosevelt Island Tram; AirTrain JFK; and Westchester County's Bee-Line Bus System. It is a thin, plastic card on which the customer electronically loads fares. It was introduced to enhance the technology of the transit system and eliminate the burden of carrying and collecting tokens. The MTA discontinued the use of tokens in the subway on May 3, 2003, and on buses on December 31, 2003. The MetroCard is managed by a division of the MTA known as MetroCard Operations and manufactured by Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.[1]
Each MetroCard stored value card is assigned a unique, permanent ten-digit serial number when it is manufactured. The value is stored magnetically on the card itself, while the card's transaction history is held centrally in the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) Database. When a card is purchased and fares are loaded onto it, the MetroCard Vending Machine or station agent's computer stores the amount of the purchase onto the card and updates the database, identifying the card by its serial number. Whenever the card is swiped at a turnstile, the value of the card is read, the new value is written, the customer is let through, and then the central database is updated with the new transaction as soon as possible. Cards are not validated in real time against the database when swiped to pay the fare. The AFC Database is necessary to maintain transaction records to track a card if needed. It has actually been used to acquit criminal suspects[14] by placing them away from the scene of a crime. The database also stores a list of MetroCards that have been invalidated for various reasons (such as lost or stolen student or unlimited monthly cards), and it distributes the list to turnstiles in order to deny access to a revoked card.
The older blue MetroCards were not capable of the many kinds of fare options that the gold ones currently offer. The format of the magnetic stripe used by the blue MetroCard offered very little other than the standard pay-per-swipe fare. Also, gold MetroCards allow groups of people (up to four) to ride together using a single pay-per-swipe MetroCard. The gold MetroCard keeps track of the number of swipes at a location in order to allow those same number of people to transfer at a subsequent location, if applicable. The MetroCard system was designed to ensure backward compatibility, which allowed a smooth transition from the blue format to gold.[15]
There are special kinds of MetroCards issued for students, senior citizens, the disabled, and transit employees. These cards offer discounted rides and usually have the picture of the intended patron on the card to minimize fraudulent use. Students receive cards corresponding to their grade level and the distance they live from the school. Orange and white cards are issued to children in Kindergarten to the 6th grade, and white and green colored cards for teenagers from the 7th grade to the 12th grade. These MetroCards allow them to commute to and from school between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM. Student MetroCards are either full-fare, which can be used up to three times daily for the subway or bus; or half fare, which can only be used for buses. Students are given Metrocards based on their grade level (K-2, 3-6, and 7-12). Student MetroCards do not have photo identification.
MetroCards for the disabled have exclusive rights to the special gates used for wheelchair access in some stations. This eliminates the need for the token booth clerk to have to manually open the gate whenever a disabled person requires entry. Metrocards for seniors allow them to ride at a half fare on all buses and subways except for express buses going in the peak direction from 6-10AM, and 3-7PM.
Both Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road offer combined ticket/MetroCard options. One side of the card displays the railroad ticket or monthly/weekly pass, and the other side is the MetroCard. These cards are made of laminated paper, which is different from SingleTicket/Bus Transfer paper Metrocards, and different from plastic ones.
Several transfers on the subway system, which involve leaving fare control are free with a MetroCard (other than a SingleRide card), and are specified in maps and signs.
The SingleRide Ticket (introduced to replace subway tokens and single cash fares) is a piece of paper with a magnetic strip on the front, and with the date and time of purchase stamped on the back:
Although the Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard is accepted on PATH, the regular SingleRide ticket is not. However, a PATH SingleRide ticket is available from MVMs in PATH stations for $2.00, valid for 2 hours and only on PATH.
Accepted on:
Home page: http://www.easypaymetrocard.com/
Accepted at:
Students receive cards corresponding to their grade level and the distance they live from the school. Orange and white cards are issued to children in Kindergarten to the 6th grade, and white and green colored cards for teenagers from the 7th grade to the 12th grade. These MetroCards allow them to commute to and from school between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM. Student MetroCards are either full-fare, which can be used up to three times daily for the subway or bus; or half fare, which can only be used for buses. Students are given MetroCards based on their grade level (K-2, 3-6, and 7-12).
Students who receive a full-fare MetroCards must live:
Students who receive a half-fare MetroCards must live:
A 4-trip card is also given to students who have a 2+ hour commute. There are also two-trip cards that are valid at all times (except Sundays), for special school trips. Student MetroCards do not have photo identification.[19]
Accepted at:
Accepted at:
*(When produced, allows reduced-fare ticket purchase except for NYC-bound trains during morning peak hours)
Additionally, like an Access-A-Ride or Medicare card, a valid reduced-fare card can also be shown when using cash, or a standard Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard, to pay a reduced fare. In the subway system, this is accomplished by providing the individual a return trip ticket at the token booth before payment of full fare. The white paper ticket (similar in appearance to the pre-MetroCard bus transfer, or block tickets offered during service disruptions) is usable for later use (up to three months) at subway token booths for a subway ride (without additional transfer), or on buses (additional bus transfer issued upon request). This ticket is not to be confused with an actual transfer, which is still stored on the regular Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard being used for two hours. Bus operators are not provided with these return tickets, so reduced fare is only possible with coins alone. (a bus transfer can then be issued) Return tickets are marked red for use by seniors, and green for the disabled.
Separate applications for Senior and Disability Reduced-fare MetroCards are available at most token booths, on buses, online and at some MTA facilities like the MetroCard Customer Service Center. Mailed applications must be accompanied by a passport-type photo unless applying in person on the MetroCard bus, or at the center. (photos taken on-site)
The MetroCard Bus Transfer is issued when a person pays a certain required fare with exact change aboard any bus accepting MetroCard. This bus transfer slip can be requested when one asks a bus operator for one way bus connection trip. The transfer slip is inserted into the fare box on the second bus, which retains it. Westchester Bee Line bus system and Nassau Inter-County Express and MTA New York City Transit bus is free to transfer from one bus to another bus that is accepted with MetroCard. The bus transfer is a paper MetroCard like the SingleRide Metrocard. This transfer does not grant cash customers subway access and does not allow inter-company transfers (except between NYCT and MTA Bus or between LIB and Suffolk Transit).
Where the fare paid to get the transfer is less than that required on the second bus, the difference must be paid on boarding.
The predecessor to the MetroCard bus transfer was the original bus transfer. These paper tickets allowed bus to bus transfers. Available in pads of several different colors for use at different times, boroughs or directions, they would be torn at a certain time-marked line to indicate when the transfer would expire. A version of this still exists today as the "General Order Transfer" (aka "block ticket") which is provided to customers as they leave the subway system during service disruptions to re-enter the system at another point (often via a shuttle bus).
Accepted at:
Booths are located in most subway stations and are staffed by station agents. Every type of MetroCard (minimum purchase $4.50) can be purchased at a booth with the exception of the 1-Day Fun Pass, the SingleRide ticket, and MetroCards specific to other transit systems (PATH, JFK Airtrain). All transactions must be in cash; $50 bills are only accepted with a purchase of $30 or more, and $100 bills only with a $70 or greater purchase. Credit/Debit cards are not accepted at booths.
MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs) are machines located in all subway stations, the Staten Island Ferry terminals, the Roosevelt Island Tramway station, the Hempstead Transit Center at the Hempstead (LIRR station), Eltingville Transit Center, just inside the terminal near the LaGuardia Airport bus stop, at the Howard Beach and Jamaica AirTrain terminals near John F. Kennedy International Airport, and the NYC Visitors Center on 7 Avenue & 53 Street. They debuted on January 1, 1999 and are now found in two models. Standard MVMs are large vending machines that accept cash, credit cards, and ATM/debit cards and are in every station. Cash transactions are required for purchases of less than 1$, can return up to 6$ in coin change, and accept up to 30 consecutively inserted coins. There are also smaller versions of these machines that only accept credit and ATM/debit cards. Both machines allow a customer to purchase any type of MetroCard through a touch screen hierarchical menu. After payment, the MetroCard is dispensed, along with an optional paper transaction receipt. The MVM can also add fares to previously issued MetroCards. PATH Vending machines have a similar look and can dispense Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards, PATH Single Ride tickets and communicate with PATH Smartlink RFID cards.
The machines are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 through use of braille and a headset jack. Audible commands for each menu item are provided once a headset is connected and the proper sequence is keyed through the keypad. All non-visual commands are then entered via the keypad instead of the touch screen. MetroCard Vending Machines run on the old Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, which Microsoft retired around 2004. The look and feel of the software as well as the exterior bezels were designed by Masamichi Udagawa, an employee of the design firm IDEO. The rest of the machine's construction and design were performed by Cubic Transportation Systems.
Providing many of the services available at the customer service center, one MetroCard Van and two MetroCard Buses (retired buses converted to sales duty) routinely travel to specific locations in New York City and Westchester County, stopping for a day (or half a day) at the announced locations. MetroCards can be purchased or refilled directly from these vehicles. Schedules are available at token booths, on buses, or online at the MTA website. Reduced-fare MetroCard applications can also be processed on the bus, including taking photographs for these cards.
The MetroCard van serves all five boroughs and Westchester County, while the MetroCard bus serves Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and parts of Brooklyn. [1]
MetroCard can be purchased at any participating vendor.[20] This includes hundreds of stores across New York City, and Nassau and Westchester Counties that sell sealed, pre-paid MetroCards for face value. A comprehensive listing can be found on the MTA website.[21]
Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road riders who purchase a monthly or weekly rail pass through the mail (a useful option for people who commute daily on a continuous basis) receive a pass that is a MetroCard on the reverse side. The purchaser may opt to add value to the card at any subway station booth or MVM or may have the card pre-valued: Weekly passes may have a $20 MetroCard attached and monthly passes may have a monthly pass. In the case of the latter the monthly pass is valid for the same calendar month as the rail ticket (therefore it may be valid up to 31 days).
Railroad ticket vending machines (TVM) for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad offer the option to purchase combined tickets/passes and MetroCards. A $4 MetroCard is available with a round-trip ticket, $20 MetroCard with a weekly pass and $40 MetroCard with monthly pass. In addition, the machines sell separate $20 MetroCards. TVMs at Jamaica Station on AirTrain JFK sell a one way ticket with a $5 MetroCard to pay the AirTrain fare.
Beginning in 2007 with the start of service on the S89 bus, a combined HBLR monthly pass and monthly MetroCard is available at NJT Ticket Vending Machines at HBLR stations.
In 2005, the MTA offered half-fare discounts to riders on weekends during the last week of 2005 and New Year's Day, 2006, allowing subway and bus rides for $1 instead of the regular $2 fare with a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. The discounts did not apply to the Single Ride ticket or express buses and commensurate discounts were offered for monthly unlimited MetroCards.
A walk-in center providing help with MetroCard problems, processing reduced-fare applications and providing maps and schedules. It is located in lower Manhattan at 3 Stone Street (near Broadway) and business hours are weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM. During his 2009 campaign for New York City Public Advocate, activist Alex Zablocki suggested that the MTA allow customers the ability to check MetroCard balances online.[22]
In 2006 the MTA and Port Authority announced plans to replace the Metrocard with smart cards. In February the Port Authority unveiled a $73 million smart card system in the newly built World Trade Center PATH station. The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) SmartLink card contains an antenna attached to a computer chip inside the card, which can be read by turnstiles without requiring passengers to swipe cards. This card will eventually replace the magnetic-strip QuickCard accepted at PATH turnstiles.
As of March 31, 2006, Metrocard Vending Machines have replaced PATH QuickCard machines at PATH stations.
The New York City subway and bus network will eventually use this same technology. A consortium of New York metropolitan transit agencies, including the Port Authority and New Jersey Transit, will test different versions and introduce a single standard. In the future all New York City area transit systems will use the same "contactless" payment system.
On July 1, 2006, MTA launched a six-month pilot program to test the new "contact-less" smart card fare collection system, initially ending on December 31, 2006 but extended until May 31, 2007.[23] This program will be tested at all stations on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and at four stations in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. The testing system utilizes Citibank Mastercard's Paypass keytags.[24] Anyone with such a tag can apply to participate. This smart card system is intended to ease congestion near the fare control area by reducing time spent at paying for fare. MTA and other transportation authorities in the region say they will eventually implement system-wide.[25][26]
Since April 1, 2007, Metrocards are used as fare media on the Westchester County Bee Line bus system. Westchester County DOT has entered into an agreement with the MTA to pool revenue from the Metrocard fare system. Pay-per-ride and Unlimited Ride Metrocards are now accepted on all Bee-Line local buses and the BxM4C (Route 28) express bus, with a fare and transfer structure identical to NYC Transit bus/subway system. This includes transfers between Bee Line buses and NYC Transit bus/subway lines in the Bronx and Manhattan.
In April 2008, in observance of Earth Day, the MTA released five million "Green MetroCards" in an effort to promote environmental awareness. The lettering was green in color and the back of the card had factoids on ways to save the environment.
The MetroCard system is susceptible to various types of frauds, perpetrated by clever con artists. Usually these frauds involve the con artist preventing or dissuading the commuter from using his or her own MetroCard, and then charging the commuter for entry to the system (entry is gained by a method that costs the con artist nothing).
One instance would be for the con artist to deliberately jam a MetroCard vending machine in a station (e.g. with chewing gum), and then wait for somebody to try buying a new card just as a train is approaching. As the innocent customer discovers that the machine is broken, the con artist offers to swipe the rider through the turnstile on their own card in return for $2.25 (the same as the regular fare). If the rider accepts, the con artist swipes their altered or stolen card, and lets the rider go through the turnstile. The rider comes out even (they lost $2.25 but got a ride out of it) or slightly behind (if he or she was counting on getting a discount), the con artist makes $2.25, and the MTA loses a fare (plus the cost of fixing the damaged vending machine). This scam is often run by a team of 2 or more people, with one person working the turnstile and the others acting as lookouts.
Also, Metrocard Vending Machines have a software bug that will disable the bill or coin acceptor after a series of rejected bills or coins, which can result in a row of MVMs all saying "No Bills" or "No Coins".[27]
If a con artist is not using a stolen or broken card, he or she can use an array of unlimited cards. Multiple cards are needed because of the 18-minute delay between each swipe at the same station. Using unlimited cards, a con artist is able to sell rides for $1 instead of $2.
A report from New York State Senator Martin J. Golden claims this scam is costing the MTA $260,000 a year, and some con artists are making up to $800 a day executing it.[28]
All aspects of this scam have been recently prohibited by MTA policy and a New York State law.[29] It is now a crime to do any of these things:
Some con artists will approach a tourist having trouble with the swiping of the card, and pretend to be helpful, but will use a sleight-of-hand trick to switch the tourist's MetroCard with one having little or no value.
The introduction of MetroCards did eliminate one class of criminals. When the NYC subway still used tokens, token suckers would steal tokens by jamming turnstile coin slots, waiting for unsuspecting passengers to deposit tokens (only to discover that the turnstile did not work), then returning to suck out the token. The retirement of tokens in 2003 put the token suckers out of commission, or, at the very least, forced them to find new ways of scamming the system (see above).
The MetroCard does have a magnetic stripe, but both the track offsets and the encoding differ from standard Magstripe cards. It's a proprietary format developed by the contractor Cubic. Off-the-shelf reader/writers for the standard cards are useless, and even hypothetically could work only with both physical and software modification. Some have had partial success decoding it using audio tape recorder heads, laptop sound cards, and custom Linux software.[30]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| MetroCard Gold TV Commercials (1997), Metropolitan Transportation Authority Archive; July 2, 2010; 3:35 YouTube video clip | |
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