There's an app for that.

nobody buys unlimiteds to go to work??? what the hell....if you use the MTA to get to work this should not even be a topic of discussion for you, unless you work part-time.

This is a embarrassment

It's unbelievable that even after all this extra FREE money to the MTA that they're still strapped for cash...

This proves that you don't need an education to work for the MTA. At any level. Such an embarrassment for New York.

of course, you don't need an education to be the person sitting behind the counter as we so evidently observe daily

but the people who really run the MTA... you can bet they are well educated. how else would they consistently scam new york city and get away with it?

all this crap with uneven metrocard amounts and even when the machine just steals your swipe money without actually letting you through.. it's all intentionally and carefully engineered to illegitimately take more of your money.. to be honest, this would be an OUTRAGE in my country (I am international) but it seems new yorkers never complain about anything and just go along with whatever new scam the authorities pull on them.. just look at bloomberg buying his third term.. this would have caused OUTRAGE in my country, there would have been protests, chaos, WAR on the streets

well.. if you look at the list of people who are board members and managers of the MTA.. you would realize that most of them belong to a special group of "chosen" people; therefore, it is not only allowed, but encouraged for them to abuse their public power and steal from the citizens of NYC according to the holy book. Not to mention the MTA's close ties to bloomberg. Yea, bloomberg bought his third election with $100 mil of his "own money", yea okay.

Here's the issue:

The point of the metro card machines was to make the transaction of receiving a card faster than a station agent, plus you can use a credit card whereas as with a station agent you cannot. With the old system of of a $2.00 fare you pressed a few buttons and shazam! your card was filled and you were on your way.

If you want to redeem the .50¢ or whatever remains, you will have to do a few extra steps: adding your own desired amount whether it be $4.50, $15.65, or $31.30 slows down the process of getting said card. Plus most people can't add numbers in their head, throw decimals into that equation and you have yourself a long-ass, slow moving, metro card machine line with a lot of frustrated straphangers.

I have seen, since the fare increase lines are getting longer and slower. Plus, for a crowded station like Columbus Circle, there are only three machines. That station should have 15 to 20 machines.

Personally it bothers me, but I use the same card over and over—I refill it instead of throwing it out and buying a new one. So in my case, if I lose .25¢ or .50¢, no skin.

For the people who think that collecting cards with loose change on them will grant them a free ride, it doesn't work that way. You can't collect 3 or 4 cards and expect the station agent to make one card, they will not do it.

Yes they do.

As usual the MTA yet again figures out a way to screw the little guy.

There are cases where you will have something like 97 cents left on your Metrocard. You cannot add $1.28 to bring it up to full fare. As stated in the article, you can only add to the Metrocard in increments of five cents. Now, that two cents lost isn't that big of a deal to me, but I can guarantee you that it adds up to a fair amount of revenue for the MTA.

How would you end up with anything like 97 cents left on the card, without having added some strange amount to begin with?

Add whole dollars every time and it won't happen; it will always be divisible by 5 so you'll always be able to put it at a single-fare $2.25 value by making an allowed transaction.

Let's say you have a card with exactly $1.00 left on it. You want to put five rides' worth ($11.25) on it. The bonus will get you a little more, so with that $1 you had before, you should have another ride.

Your card total will now be $13.93. Go ahead, try to spend five minutes calculating how to get exactly $13.50 on it, knowing that the machine adds 15% to the money above $8, and that it only accepts payment in increments of 5¢, and that you started with $1.00.

Or you could just use the card like everyone else, and just have 43¢ left over as a gift to the MTA.

"Let's say you have a card with exactly $1.00 left on it. You want to put five rides' worth ($11.25) on it. "

Yeah, that's what I was saying. If you always add whole dollars you won't have that problem. If you add something like $11.25, sure, the bonus is leave you with something confusing.

Add 1.85, ignore the 3 cent loss when you toss the card, it came from the %15 metrocard bonus.

I've been wondering the same thing, but I have a Metrocard that gets down to 97 cents. I have never added anything but whole dollar amounts to my card, so perhaps it was a "glitch" in the system, and one that I'm willing worked to the advantage of the MTA.

Excuse me. That should read "willing to bet".

I could make a living from the MetroCards I have found.

http://whatyourdonotknowbecauseyouarenotme.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-metocards.html

Given an 8 hour day I would find $100 worth of fares. To bad I can't sell them.

I did not know it was even possible to combine cards before this story. How does that make me stupid. It's not like its advertised anywhere.

I guess the way most people would know it who do is that it was publicized by the MTA in the press at the time of the fare increase and bonus reduction.