When the MTA changed the formula for bonuses on pay-per-ride Metrocards last year, those of us who purchase pay-per-ride cards began to notice that we were often left with balances on them that weren’t enough to cover the cost of a full fare, but still carried too much money (up to 2 whole dollars!) to toss the card in the garbage.
This, probably an intentional scheme by the MTA to keep take more of our money without providing an adequate service for it, is confusing the hell out of a lot of people, apparently.
Reports the Daily News:
“I have a whole pile of them sitting in a jewelry box on top of my dresser,” said Megan Hunt, 36, of Chelsea, who works in print production.
“There are at least 40 cards and some only have a nickel. I don’t know what to do with them, but I can’t throw them out.”
Laura Bowman, 41, a paralegal who commutes to the city from Mount Pocono, Pa., has “a bunch of cards with just 20 or 40 cents each.” Periodically, she just throws them away but the waste grates on her. “It’s frustrating,” she said.
Here’s a tip for the Metrocard math challenged: just refill the same card over and over again, that way you actually use the leftover balances on the card. Duh!
Pic via
I find cards with anywhere from 5 cents up to 20 bucks on the sidewalk ALL THE TIME. Here's the part where I prove how much of a genius I am: I take them to the booth at any train station and have the balance combined onto one card. Seriously, I haven't paid for a train ride in about a year.
that metrocard skirt is pretty cool
Why don't they charge you $5 for the card, and then let you run a negative balance of up to negative $5?
Although you do have the chance to make money off unused credit. That's what they do it in Hong Kong anyways, they charge you like $50 HKD for the plastic card but you can carry a negative balance on it (but once it hits negative you have to recharge it to use it).
Megan Hunt and Laura Bowman are not very bright. As CR noted, you can combine the balances from multiple cards onto one card at any manned booth.
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