New Calculator May Take Some of the Sting out of MTA Fare Hikes

Written by Lanning Taliaferro (Patch Staff)

The MTA has released its own MetroCard bonus calculator to coincide with the raising of the rates today.

That calculator is a nice gesture—for commuters into New York City who became aware this fall of just how tricky the Metro Card is.

I Quant NY analyzed the Metro Card, and released its findings in September 2014 to a world of people who smacked their heads and said “doh!”

We’ve all been there. The train is coming into the station, and you grab your MetroCard and quickly try and swipe it at a turnstile.

“Please Swipe Again”. “Please Swipe Again”. “Insufficient Fare”.

The last two words are killer. You think to yourself “I swear I had a balance on this card”. You go and check the card out and you see you have “$2.45”. Yes, you need $2.50 to ride the subway, and you have $2.45 on your MetroCard. Sure enough you miss that train all because of that nickel.

How did you end up in that situation any way? It turns out the MTA has designed it that way. Imagine how many tourists come to NYC and leave with balances that never get used. Imagine how many people lose metro cards with those balances that never get used. And even if it gets used on a later refill, the MTA gets to collect the cash earlier this way! Win win for them, right?

But now, with some simple math, you can fight back!

• Also Read: Fare Hikes for Travelers Using the MTA

After that, seems that everyone was memorizing $19.05. But now the fares are going up as of 12:01AM March 22. Will everyone have to do more math and memorize a new dollar amount to avoid leaving $$ on Metro Cards?

Try the MTA’s own calculator!

Use this MetroCard Calculator to figure out both new purchases and refills for full fare Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard.

Results will include value-added with the 11% bonus, the number of rides you’ll get for your money, any remaining balance as well as purchase suggestions that will give you a zero balance.

It will even help you calculate from an existing balance. And we know how crazy those balances get. But you do need to know the balance on the card.

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