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Using a MetroCard in NYCBuy and use the card for the subway, bus, AirTrain & NJ PATHNew York City is easy to get around once you know how to buy and use a MetroCard. Here's some useful information about the essential yellow magnetic card
Most likely if you are visiting New York you will take the handy public transportation to get around the city. All subway lines and buses use the MetroCard so buying and using one is essential. What is a MetroCard:The MetroCard is a prepaid electronic fare card that you need in order to ride all NYC public transportation. It's yellow on one side with the words MetroCard printed on it with a magnetic strip running along the bottom and white on the opposite side with the expiration date. You can buy different fare types but the card always looks the same. How to buy a MetroCard:It's easy to buy a MetroCard from the numerous vending machines in the subway stops, including the ones at the airport stops at Howard Beach and Jamaica. Using the touch screens are simple and the cards can be bought in several different languages. You can use cash, credit cards or debit cards to purchase MetroCards. You can also buy them from the Subway Station Booth Agents using cash only. Buses don't sell the cards so make sure you have one before getting on a bus. Buses do take cash however, normal fares are $2, but they only accept coins. How to use a MetroCard:For the subway and PATH, you swipe the card through the turnstile. You need to make sure the yellow side with the magnetic strip is facing you so the turnstile can read the card. To help you remember this there are some arrows on the yellow side of the card with the words "Insert this way/This side facing you." Swipe in the direction the arrows point. When the reader says "Go" you can proceed through the turnstile. Don't swipe too fast or too slow and make sure the card fits deeply into the turnstile reader, otherwise you might get a message saying "Please swipe again" or "Swipe again at this turnstile." If you see these messages keep swiping until you get the "Go." For buses you insert the card with the arrows down. The bus fare reader grabs the card and will return it back to you after it has subtracted the fare. MetroCard transfers:If you have a pay-per-ride card you automatically get one free transfer. The transfers are only subway to bus, bus to subway, or bus to bus, there is no subway to subway transfer. The transfer is good for two hours from your initial swipe, so if you got on the bus at 11:20 am your transfer will work in the subway until 1:20 pm. The transfers are also cumulative. So if two people use the pay-per-ride card at the same time to get on the bus, two transfers will be stored into the card to use for the subway. MetroCard choices and prices:Normal fare is $2. Pay-per-ride cards subtract the $2 fare every time you swipe. You can put however much you want on the card and every $10 gets a free $2. So if you pay $10 for a card, your card automatically becomes worth $12, which means six rides for the price of five ($1.67 per ride). Unlimited cards come in 1-day ($7, you need to ride it over 5 times to get money's worth), 7-day ($24/ride over 15 times), and 30-day ($76/ride over 46 times) options. For more info on MetroCard prices and types click here Other places to use the MetroCard:AirTrain monorail system at JFK Airport uses the MetroCard when you exit/enter the system for the A or E subways at Howard Beach and Jamaica. You will need the pay-per-ride version for JFK and it costs $5. New Jersey PATH now takes pay-per-ride MetroCards for their system. More NYC transportation info: Getting to and from NYC airports Neighborhood info-NoLIta: Mott Street -Upper West Side: Central Park -West Village: Bedford Street
The copyright of the article Using a MetroCard in NYC in New York Travel is owned by Lisa Schroeder. Permission to republish Using a MetroCard in NYC in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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