Amtrak41

On 4/17/2024 at 8:36 AM, ABOGbrooklyn said:

OMNY bus should be a Orion NG..

 Nah. It should be a restored GM Greyhound Scenicruiser. They had personality and CLASS. 

Any plans to put up any platform barrier at Grand Central ? 

I haven't been there in a couple of years, but I remember such barriers near the east end of the platform since the 1970's since it appears to be able to handle almost 12 cars. 

"In Queens, Manhattan-bound  skips 111 St and 82 St-Jackson Hts Through early 2024"

It's April 11th and there is no sign work is about to be completed. 

When they finish the Manhattan bound side of 82nd, will the Flushing bound side immediately close down ?

20 hours ago, RestrictOnTheHanger said:

Not gonna lie I kinda like the black and white... The design is minimalist in a good way

So why is Metrocard, and with all those theme issuances, and that RTS bus so colorful ? 

If you are a senior, only one bank card (don't know about actual OMNY card) can be stated as such. If you change cards, call customer service, and it will take a couple of days.

It's been about 6 weeks. now. Sometimes a header page comes up on one of the boards. Someone or two posts a test post now and again, but 95% of the time, it is "An error occurred while processing this page.". I suspect it is by accident and the site is abandoned. I stopped participating over the multi-week outage in August of 2022. 

Larry showed no sense of responsibility to monitor it, which if he had any brains would find to be a source of embarassment   with all the toxic and threatening posts by "Train Dude" and others, which would have gotten them banned put on a DHS or FBI watchlist anywhere else. I hope it is for gone for good.

These socially dysfunctional, narcisstic posters will have to find other ways to entertain themselves.

Are they ever going to get Trip History working again as on every other system, or is that beyond their competency ?

This whole thing is London's Oyster Card, which has a far more complex fare system and is not brand new technology.

Valley Stream - Inwood should be Zone 3. Zone 4 is priced out of the market as proven by Far Rockaway Branch ridership that has been falling since 1970. While they are at it, put Centre Avenue - Oceanside in Zone 4.  

Transferring from one debit card to another with a Senior account. 

It is easy enough to add a payment method, but shifting senior status from one card to the other requires a call to Customer sevrice, then wait 2 business days for it to take effect. 

This is how Eagle Team and Fare-Capping meet. It ain't nice:

https://hellgatenyc.com/the-mtas-farebeating-crackdown-on-buses-is-a-mess

They can hasten the process by stopping the silliness that one must have a senior Metrocard in order to get a senior OMNY account. I had to get one, which took months by mail, it will never see the light of day, only to use its serial number to apply to OMNY for my debit card. 

So they require a new Metrocard to convert to OMNY, while they are trying to get rid of Metrocard infrastucture. Makes sense only in MTA 

MTA target dates are like $3 bills. 

9 hours ago, mikecintel said:

I remember they want OMNY seamlessly to be able to transfer to Subway, Bus, LIRR and MNR so that is why they implement it.  The public doesn't want the Metro card to away and now they will have to accept OMNY card. If the MTA want everyone to tap in an out just for the MNR and LIRR so they can automatic calculate the fare zones then the public has to do it just like other countries they do it. In London people tap in and out and if MTA does that to the MNR and LIRR I think the public will get use to it because other countries are doing that too.  We have to see what the MTA does about OMNY for the MNR and LIRR. If they do a tap in and tap out at every station then that will be it.  In BC Canada they do a tap in and tap out at every station. I remember when i went to BC Vancouver I had to tap in and tap out.  I got use to it.  If the MTA does that and people forgot to tap out I am sure there will be a charge or something because in BC Vancouver the Translink their if you forgot to tap out then it will calculate and deduct the fare in the stored value difference.

Nobody cares what they do in other countries, or even Philadelphia. Taking time to queue up to tap out at stations won't be tolerated. 

Why do they have to implelment it on LIRR and MN if Metrocard goes away ? 

I don't see making everyone tap in and out at every station as something the public will accept, then stick stanchions up everywhere. 

No way does MC end in 2024. 

10 hours ago, mikecintel said:

Personal  I am afraid that it will be "hack" and all my money in the bank will be gone.  That is why I rather get an OMNY card and just refill it online.  I had that happen once to my friend and she used her debit card and that is when the nightmare started. Eventually she got her money back but it took a long time.  I rather be safe with an OMNY card that is not tied to my bank account.  If it is linked to my credit card at least my credit card there are monitor my credit card in event my card got hacked.

For that reason, I opened a no min balance, no fee checking account at Citizens Bank ("One Deposit") for just this purpose. If they hack it , they won't get very far. 

Why not just use a bank debit card and screw them and their OMNY card and machines  ? 

Will they ever resolve posting Trip History, or is that an insurmountable obstacle for this $700 million project ? 

11 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

Yeah, My first card cracked somehow and became useless. So a backup may make sense.

Get something like this and attach to belt reel so it won't crack:

https://www.amazon.com/Bluemoona-Pcs-Frosted-Horizontal-Business/dp/B015DMR6F6/ref=sr_1_16_mod_primary_new?crid=4YWRIBC2VC3B&keywords=rigid%2Bcredit%2Bcard%2Bholder&qid=1699022201&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=rigid%2Bcredit%2Bcard%2Bholder%2Caps%2C65&sr=8-16&th=1

2) Why is this happening?

In an effort to improve customer experience, the Port Authority of NY & NJ (PANYNJ) is collaborating with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to unite their separate payment systems, through OMNY, allowing customers to travel seamlessly to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport as well as through the New York public transportation system.

3) What does OMNY have to do with this?

OMNY is the contactless fare payment system for public transportation in the New York region. Over time OMNY plans to unify New York’s subways, buses paratransit and commuter rails. AirTrain JFK is OMNY’s newest addition through partnership with the Port Authority.

For more information about OMNY, visit https://omny.info/

Do note what they did NOT say: PATH is not specifically mentioned above. 

That is a silly article. So what if Long Island and Orange County have different fare structures. Nobody in the Hamptons cares what it costs to go to Port Jervis. They are different markets with varying demand with differing cost structures. What is merging fare zones going to accomplish other than causing huge cliffs from one zone to the next, causing people to drive closer in ? Look at the jump from Zone 4 to 7 and 12 to 14 on the LIRR, who went overboard merging fare zones in the 19780's. None of that has anything to do with OMNY. OMNY is here to serve us, not for us to serve OMNY. They make like OMNY are the holy tablets to abide by. 

Airtrain turnstiles look easy to jump. Does anyone do it ? Far more benefical to avoid a $8.25 fare over a $2.90 one. 

PATh already has a tap card that can be replenished on one's PC. I don't see any reaosn to change it other than to use one's bank card or phone. That alone is not worth spending $99.4 million to replace. 

On 8/25/2023 at 1:08 AM, N6 Limited said:

It costs $1 to obtain a MetroCard. It’s a scam because it’s the only way to pay for the AirTrain (at the moment), therefore tourists coming from JFK have to buy one to exit.

Also, you can’t refill the 10-trip or 30-day unlimited fare options, so you have to pay an additional dollar each time. (The MTA waives the fee for a new card at subway MVMs if you’re trying to refill an expired (or nearly expired) card.)

Too bad tourists don't simply take the Q10 to Kew Gardens LIRR or the IND @ Union Turnpike.