The PATH MetroCard turnstyles are much better, since you don't have to worry about the swipe. You feed the card in, it finds the hole swipes it automatically and spits it out the other end well you see your balance on a nice big LCD screen which turns green so you can be sure that you can proceed.

Now if they can only do something about those Iron Madiens, I mean HEETs. They look like something for making Soylent Green out of straphangers.

It says a lot about the MTA when the common level they can find to communicate with their customers is that we are all intimately familiar with punching people in the stomach.

Maybe that's what the mother with the stroller should have done, when she got a ticket for pushing her stroller through the gate?

This guy may know how to swipe a Metrocard, but he clearly doesn't know how to punch somebody in the stomach.

Like shutter lag on digital cameras, MetroCard swiping follies are a drawback of a supposedly advanced technology. They should definitely go contactless systemwide as soon as possible. I love using my Amex ExpressPay and my Exxon Mobil Speedpass--not to mention E-ZPass! Contactless payments for all, I say.

They should have gone with a contactless system in the first place. The system works great in Hong Kong. The contactless system was a consideration during the proposal process, but I heard politics led the MTA to pick a swipe system.

Regarding swipes, it could be the reader, the card or the swiper. To keep the line moving, however, I suggest these things:

1) Have your card ready BEFORE you get to the turnstile. There's nothing more frustrating than waiting for someone to fish his/her card out of his/her wallet/purse.

2) Don't look for your card while going up/down the stairs. It's dangerous and you're holding up people while ineptly trying to walk and find your card.

3) If you can't swipe it correctly after a few times, step aside and let other people through. Then you'll know if it's the reader, your card or your inability to swipe.

I agree about the lazy floor mopper and the sneering tollbooth attendant.

But did you know that the greater majority of MTA employees are the ones who actually run the system behind the scenes, such as track workers, engineers and traffic controllers? The system is really old, so all the switching and track relays are done manually by many highly skilled traffic controllers.

That's what I'm talking about, and these make up a significant amount of MTA employees.

Ooooh, Rich Starr, how does one become a beta tester, exactly?

#8 --- AMEN!

I am a beta tester of this new system, and the benefit is they also give you an unlimited Metro Card to use on the other parts of the system. I am not sure how it works, but when I swipe it never gives an expiration date, and I've had it for almost 3 months.

METROTARDS!

Hey empty-A:

Yes millions were spent but I have a question. Just how many of those millions do we need to give transit workers before they start to do their job? Just give us a number that would ensure clean stations, clean cars, booth workers who don't snarl, ect.

Until then I say spend the millions on as much automation and/or rider discounts as possible. A raise is usually predicated on doing a good job and sadly the perception is that most transit workers don't care.

Millions were spent on this swipe-less technology, and the MTA gave away many millions for a holiday discount. Then, when the transit workers asked for a raise, the MTA pulled out their pockets and said, "We ain't got no money. Sorry!"

especially during the summer, when the readers seem to get crappier than at other times of the year.

often the problem is the uninspired maintenance performed by our beloved MTA workers. The same "I'm not gonna pick that up" attitude applies to cleaning the metro card readers (and cleaning stations outside of the Manhattan tourist zone)

Most of the time its not the swiper's fault Rocknrope. Also the machines tend to have a mind of their own when it comes to how fast you swipe.

If it works as well as the HK Octopus or Tokyo Suica smart cards, I'm all for it.

is that going to be like the london tube's Oyster system? Is this a foreshadow of a zoned metro system?

I'm both frustrated and amused by people who still swipe incorrectly. It's great to watch the line of people glaring at the incompetent swiper as he gets more and more self conscious about his swiping technique. Like the clumsy fumblings of a teenager going for a grope.

Great. Another Technology for the MTA to screw up...