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Different Types of NYC MetroCardsA Buying Guide for the Unlimited and Pay-per-ride Cards
How to get the most value out of the different variety of MetroCards needed for NYC subway and bus, New Jersey PATH public transportation system and JFK Airtrain.
Residents and tourists alike use New York City’s vast public transportation system because it is usually the easiest and most economical way of getting around. Everybody these days must use a MetroCard in order to pay the fare to ride the subway or buses. Not surprisingly, there are many different kinds of MetroCards to purchase and sometimes the one that seems the best choice isn’t always so. There used to be ads in the subway touting how much you would pay per ride if you bought certain unlimited MetroCards (cards with a fixed price and an unlimited amount of rides), depending on how much you used them, the cheaper the price. Sure the math worked out but somehow the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) didn't tell you the whole story about how to really get the cheapest ride. Here's a quick lesson: Weekly Unlimited CardThe $24 unlimited seven-day MetroCard is only a good deal for those who will use the card more than three times a day for all seven days, most likely tourists. The unlimited card starts the first time you swipe it through the turnstile, so if you start it on a Monday, it will be good through the following Sunday. The normal price of a ride is $2, so you would have to use this card 15 times to get the most economical use out of it. That would average two times per day for six days and three times on the seventh day. Of course if you use it more than two times per day then it becomes even more economical. Monthly Unlimited CardThe $76 unlimited 30-day MetroCard is a little harder to judge. You need to use it more than 38 times in order to pay less than $2 per ride. This could work if out of those 30 days you go to work for 22, that would ensure 44 rides (twice per work day) making it about $1.72 per ride. You would only need to use the card one more time to make the ride price $1.69, about the same price you would pay with the pay-per-ride cards ($1.67 per ride). Pay-per-ride CardIf you aren't using the subway very often a better solution is buying a $20 pay-per-ride card. For every $10 you put on this card you automatically get one free ride, so for a $20 card you automatically get two rides free making it a $24 card, therefore the rides are already less than $2, they are $1.67. So now you have 12 rides, 10 for the week and two for the weekend if you can bear to try out the trains, or if you don't use the extra rides, you can still use them whenever you want, at least until the card expires. Probably the only people the $24 unlimited MetroCard is good for are tourists - hopping on and off the subway multiple times in one day is the only way to get your money's worth from the unlimited cards. With thepay-per-ride cards - you get a free ride with every $10 spent. So let's say you buy $70 worth, which really makes it an $84 card. This card then ensures you 42 rides at $1.67 per ride. If you need the two additional rides, that's only $4 more, so for the same amount of rides of the 30-day unlimited you paid $2 less overall. That's assuming that you don't need the card on the weekend and only use it twice per day during the week. The $76 monthly unlimited card is only worth it if you will use it more than 45 times. One-time RideWhat you should never buy is the one-time $2, no transfer ride. It's much better to just buy a $10 pay-per-ride because it's really worth $12 ($1.67 per ride). You'll end up using the extra money or rides eventually, unfortunately everybody needs a MetroCard now to use the Airtrain system at JFK airport ($5 per use), plus the New Jersey PATH accepts MTA MetroCards too ($1.50 per ride). The fact-of-life of living in or visiting NYC is taking the subway or bus, but hopefully now you can determine what is the best MetroCard for you. Continue to read about how to buy and use a MetroCard Please visit the MTA website for more info on NYC's public transportation NYC Neighborhood Info-NoLIta: Mulberry Street -Upper West Side: Historic Upper Manhattan -West Village: Bedford Street
The copyright of the article Different Types of NYC MetroCards in New York Travel is owned by Lisa Schroeder. Permission to republish Different Types of NYC MetroCards in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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