PayPass Spotted On Buses!

Photos by Steve Guttbinder

A reader just sent us these photos, saying "Look what I found on my M14!" Indeed, this is worthy of at least one exclamation point (and some SubChatters were equally enthused after spotting one earlier this week). If you've never found yourself short of change or MetroCard funds after getting on a bus, here is typically what happens. The driver gives you some time to rummage through your purse for change (because no bills are accepted), then suggests you ask everyone on board if they have change, and then you basically get booted off at the next stop after an unsuccessful attempt at panhandling. But things are about to change, straphangers... as long as you're holding plastic.

The PayPass program, allowing riders to pay with a card, was first introduced to 30 subway stations back in 2006 and has expanded since. We've contacted the MTA's Aaron Donovan to find out more about these latest sightings on buses, and will update when he gets back to us.

UPDATE: Donovan tells us, "As we noted in our recent report, Making Every Dollar Count (PDF), this year we are piloting a new fare collection technology that will eliminate the need to swipe a farecard, will cost the MTA less to operate and will ultimately provide additional benefits to subway, bus and commuter rail customers, including faster bus boarding, better regional interconnectivity, and the ability to select between pay-per-ride and unlimited-ride fare options over the phone or via the web.

The unit your reader photographed, and similar ones, once activated, will be part of that pilot. The pilot is expected to launch this summer. The units are currently not active."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on March 26, 2010 4:42 PM

Comments [rss]

whitecastlerock

Eventually the MTA will have eliminated all trains and buses in order to balance their budget and to pay the unions-eliminating the need to swipe Metro cards or credit cards

matty

We in Chicago have these "smart cards" that debit from our checking accounts. All you have to do is wave them like a magic wand over a scanner on the bus. Have had them for several years now. Not sure if this is the same thing.

youngpro

yes, thanks. attempt at speeding up the lines fail when straphanger goes for the mastercard HE DOESN'T HAVE.

why waste so much time on purchasing and installing the readers if only ONE card is accepted?

jaycjay

"How Chicago figured this out and we can't..."

We just need to get some of those magical Chicago fare boxes that read bills more successfully than currency readers in every other vending machine in the world.

Or, get selective memories and just forget all those times when they do reject a bill. That seems to work, too.

Thespis

This remains a pet peeve -- I lived in Chicago in the early 00's, and they were able to take dollar bills on buses, no problem. Here? Absolutely friggin' impossible.

Most of the time I have a MetroCard -- but they run out, and it would nice to be able to just use a couple of dollar bills rather than hoofing it over to the subway to get a new one. But that's asking too much, apparently.

schadenfreudian mensch

Way too much. And what happens if you have a one of those old raggedly dollar bills or really crumpled ones? Have you ever tried inserting it into one of those machines and it spits it back to you because it can't recognize those bills. Now think about it when you have a whole line of people behind you trying to get into the bus during rush hour and you're trying again and again inserting it to the machine hoping it will accept those bills. Yea too much.

Thespis

Yeah, but that's just the thing -- the Chicago buses worked, so it can definitely be done. It wasn't at all rare to have lots of people who needed to pay cash, but I never noticed a significant delay -- possibly because the fare boxes almost always took the dollar on the first try. (If New York's fare boxes were crappy...why the hell didn't we get better fare boxes?)

And it wasn't because the buses weren't crowded -- they were at least as crowded as they are here. Hell, they couldn't have been any MORE crowded -- the number 6 bus was about as crowded as the number 6 train is here: armpit to nose the whole ride. (And some of them weren't air-conditioned, but that's another topic.)

Still, people got on and off with no delay. How Chicago figured this out and we can't...

Tower18

As a resident of Chicago between 2006 and 2009, I wholeheartedly disagree that cash payers caused no delay. It's such a pain in the ass waiting for people to dig bills out of their pockets/purses, while everyone else just uses the touch-card system (that's right, Chicago has also moved beyond Metrocards).

That said, this only appears to work if you have a PayPass-enabled card. How prevalent is that? I don't personally know anyone that has one.

colonelcasey

I guess you never saw how long it took for people to feed dollar bills into the fare box in the 90's. I for one am happy that they got rid of it.