Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 26, 2013 Share #1 Posted November 26, 2013 My Hudson Raillink bus was almost late to the station this morning. Tons of construction work going on in Riverdale thanks to all of the co-ops and condos in some areas... Anywho, there I was cranky that I was going to miss my peak rush hour train to the city. Ran to the ticket machine, used my credit card and violà, I had my ticket and my train was a bit late so no worries there, but an idea crossed my mind... Why can't you just use your Metrocard to buy Metro-North tickets? I've had money value on a Metrocard for so long that I didn't realize I had anything on it until I checked this morning. I need to buy unlimited Express Bus Plus cards due to my crazy schedule and tutoring, but in the meantime, it would be great if say you had money on a Metrocard and could use that to buy Metro-North tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lirr42 Posted November 26, 2013 Share #2 Posted November 26, 2013 MetroCard is on its way out. The next fare payment system will likely offer some sort of integration with the commuter rails, but for now, just put less on your MetroCard and you'll survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted November 26, 2013 MetroCard is on its way out. The next fare payment system will likely offer some sort of integration with the commuter rails, but for now, just put less on your MetroCard and you'll survive. Oh really? I've been hearing that for years... Think about it though... I can use my MetroCard for everything (express bus, local bus, subway, etc.) but not the LIRR or Metro-North... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted November 26, 2013 Share #4 Posted November 26, 2013 but not the LIRR or Metro-North... Or tolls, the ferry, cabs and airlines. Far from everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted November 26, 2013 Or tolls, the ferry, cabs and airlines. Far from everything. lol... We're talking about public transportation supplied by the . That was the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted November 26, 2013 Share #6 Posted November 26, 2013 Just because they are all MTA, they are all independent operations. Besides what sence would it be to buy a Metro Card to buy a train ticket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted November 26, 2013 Just because they are all MTA, they are all independent operations. Besides what sence would it be to buy a Metro Card to buy a train ticket? That's not the point. The point is why can't you use your Metrocard to purchase Metro-North tickets if you have money on it but you can use the card to pay for everything else (express bus, local bus, subway)... All services, some of which are under different operations (i.e. Bus vs NYCT), etc. If that's the case, why bother to have a Metrocard at all? I could just pay for everything with a credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted November 26, 2013 Share #8 Posted November 26, 2013 If that's the case, why bother to have a Metrocard at all? I could just pay for everything with a credit card. Then go ahead. Go through the turnstile in the subway or get on a bus with a credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted November 26, 2013 Then go ahead. Go through the turnstile in the subway or get on a bus with a credit card. LOL... Smart one... Whatever happened to that pilot program anyway which allowed you to pay with your credit card on the bus or subway?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted November 27, 2013 Share #10 Posted November 27, 2013 If you want to pay with your MetroCard they could implement that. But not to buy a ticket, just to pay. Like you pay with your MetroCard on the subway and bus. No need for separate tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lirr42 Posted November 27, 2013 Share #11 Posted November 27, 2013 Or you could just put less on your MetroCard and more on your Credit Card and you'll be all set to go. Just because you loaded $500 onto a MetroCard and now don't have any way to use it doesn't make it MNCR's problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted November 27, 2013 Or you could just put less on your MetroCard and more on your Credit Card and you'll be all set to go. Just because you loaded $500 onto a MetroCard and now don't have any way to use it doesn't make it MNCR's problem. I actually forgot I even had cash on the card. That's the point. It would be nice to use the card for more than what it is currently used for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QM1to6Ave Posted November 27, 2013 Share #13 Posted November 27, 2013 When I take the local bus to the LIRR at Jamaica, I've always wanted to be able to pay for a ticket with my metrocard and have the value of my transfer (2.50) be applied to the ticket price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share #14 Posted November 27, 2013 When I take the local bus to the LIRR at Jamaica, I've always wanted to be able to pay for a ticket with my metrocard and have the value of my transfer (2.50) be applied to the ticket price. Well that's a bit much to ask for but I understand where you're coming from. The other thing that I do is switch coats a lot and if for whatever reason you forget your wallet but have your Metrocard, you could still get to where you need to go. It's happened to me here and there where I forgot my wallet but had my Metrocard and my lunch, so I just left the wallet at home if I was in a rush, did my regular stuff and when I got home, all was well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted November 27, 2013 Share #15 Posted November 27, 2013 If you want to pay with your MetroCard they could implement that. But not to buy a ticket, just to pay. Like you pay with your MetroCard on the subway and bus. No need for separate tickets. It would take a lot of time and $$$ to put something like that in place. One issue is the fare is based on the distance traveled and the time of day traveled. If you go from White Plains to Fordam, it's alot cheaper than going White Plains to GCT. If some one only has $3.00 on there card they could get a short distance but that's not going to stop them from going a further distance that could cost upward of $24.00. One way around that is to have something similar to EZ Pass where your Metro Card belongs to you and you pre load $$$ on an account. The other issue is turnstiles. They would have erected at every entrance to every platform in a manor to prevent jumping the turnstile or the railing many of the stations. Travelers would then have to swipe to get on and off the train so the appropriate fare is deducted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share #16 Posted November 27, 2013 It would take a lot of time and $$$ to put something like that in place. One issue is the fare is based on the distance traveled and the time of day traveled. If you go from White Plains to Fordam, it's alot cheaper than going White Plains to GCT. If some one only has $3.00 on there card they could get a short distance but that's not going to stop them from going a further distance that could cost upward of $24.00. One way around that is to have something similar to EZ Pass where your Metro Card belongs to you and you pre load $$$ on an account. The other issue is turnstiles. They would have erected at every entrance to every platform in a manor to prevent jumping the turnstile or the railing many of the stations. Travelers would then have to swipe to get on and off the train so the appropriate fare is deducted. They could still have the same system and just allow your Metrocard to have monies deducted for the ticket. Not that complicated. Stick your Metrocard into the machine and then it deducts the necessary amount for the ticket and violà. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregorygrice Posted November 27, 2013 Share #17 Posted November 27, 2013 That's not practical anyway. The people that travel to the city via MNR and LIRR can get a ticket that serves as a "round trip" MetroCard. There would be no point in putting several amounts of money on a MetroCard to pay for a Railroad ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QM1to6Ave Posted November 27, 2013 Share #18 Posted November 27, 2013 Well that's a bit much to ask for but I understand where you're coming from. The other thing that I do is switch coats a lot and if for whatever reason you forget your wallet but have your Metrocard, you could still get to where you need to go. It's happened to me here and there where I forgot my wallet but had my Metrocard and my lunch, so I just left the wallet at home if I was in a rush, did my regular stuff and when I got home, all was well. Lol I don't think it's that much to ask for--from a local to express bus, you still get the transfer, even though the express bus costs more, like LIRR would. I've had issues where I have multiple metrocards and forget how much is on each one, so I swipe the wrong one. Gotta have a backup metrocard just in case, but it can be annoying. I've also discovered you can't use the same credit card more than 2 times each day in an MVM to refill cards, which can be a pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share #19 Posted November 27, 2013 Lol I don't think it's that much to ask for--from a local to express bus, you still get the transfer, even though the express bus costs more, like LIRR would. I've had issues where I have multiple metrocards and forget how much is on each one, so I swipe the wrong one. Gotta have a backup metrocard just in case, but it can be annoying. I've also discovered you can't use the same credit card more than 2 times each day in an MVM to refill cards, which can be a pain. Oh I agree with you. It's also annoying that you can only put one refill on your MetroCard at a time. Today I took Metro-North and needed to refill, but one card still has cash on it, so I could only put one refill on that card and then had to put the other refill on another Metrocard. So ass backwards... It would be great to put at least a month's worth of Unlimited Express passes on it. One thing I have noticed is that you can buy say MetroNorth tickets and use the same credit card after that for refills or to put cash on a Metrocard. For example, I used the same card for the following charges: MetroNorth ticket: $8.25 - Riverdale to GCT Weekly Express Bus Plus refill on Metrocard#1: $55.00 Weekly Express Bus Plus refill on Metrocard#2: $55.00 Total transactions in less than two hours: 3 in theory I shouldn't be able to use this card for any more purchases, but I've done this before where I've had a similar set up and have been able to continue to buy Metro-North tickets on a daily basis. I was told by an employee once when they (the ) blocked another of my cards that they put an automatic block on your card after two purchases for about 5 days, but I think they've changed that now because they realize that folks like myself travel all over the place. That's not practical anyway. The people that travel to the city via MNR and LIRR can get a ticket that serves as a "round trip" MetroCard. There would be no point in putting several amounts of money on a MetroCard to pay for a Railroad ticket. Says who? QM1 and I think it's certainly practical. We're both express bus users and occasional Metro-North and/or LIRR riders. On average I use Metro-North 3 - 5 times a week or more depending on where I need to go. This week I've used Metro-North everyday, but I don't decide if I'm using it or not for sure until the morning of. All depends on the weather, traffic and if I want to sleep in later and where I'm going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted November 27, 2013 Share #20 Posted November 27, 2013 @Truckie: 1 Distance traveled and stuff is not a problem. We have that kind of system over here, also for railroad trains. They just took the prices for the tickets and adopted them to smart card prices. So if you check in at location A and check out at location B it'll deduct the fare that a ticket to that location would've cost. If one travels further than they have money and they don't use automatic refill, a negative count will arise on the card. Meaning that you will have, for example, -$3. So when you load new money onto it, you'll have to load an extra $3 to make up for the negative sum. 2 Turnstiles aren't necessary per se. We don't have turnstiles at every railroad station either, only part of 'em. The ones without turnstiles simply have poles you hold your card against. If someone decides to not check in they will simply get a big fine by the conductor. Our system is not foul-proof and in practice very controversial under the people, but at least it shows that it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted November 27, 2013 Share #21 Posted November 27, 2013 If someone decides to not check in they will simply get a big fine by the conductor. How does the conductor determine whether or not a passenger checked in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted November 27, 2013 Share #22 Posted November 27, 2013 The conductors here have little PDA's with a scan function. When they scan your card they can see whether you're checked in or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share #23 Posted November 27, 2013 The conductors here have little PDA's with a scan function. When they scan your card they can see whether you're checked in or not. Imagine that... Modern technology... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QM1to6Ave Posted November 27, 2013 Share #24 Posted November 27, 2013 Oh I agree with you. It's also annoying that you can only put one refill on your MetroCard at a time. Today I took Metro-North and needed to refill, but one card still has cash on it, so I could only put one refill on that card and then had to put the other refill on another Metrocard. So ass backwards... It would be great to put at least a month's worth of Unlimited Express passes on it. One thing I have noticed is that you can buy say MetroNorth tickets and use the same credit card after that for refills or to put cash on a Metrocard. For example, I used the same card for the following charges: MetroNorth ticket: $8.25 - Riverdale to GCT Weekly Express Bus Plus refill on Metrocard#1: $55.00 Weekly Express Bus Plus refill on Metrocard#2: $55.00 Total transactions in less than two hours: 3 in theory I shouldn't be able to use this card for any more purchases, but I've done this before where I've had a similar set up and have been able to continue to buy Metro-North tickets on a daily basis. I was told by an employee once when they (the ) blocked another of my cards that they put an automatic block on your card after two purchases for about 5 days, but I think they've changed that now because they realize that folks like myself travel all over the place. I don't fully understand the MTA's logic in how quickly they block credit cards after 2 uses. When I had that problem, one of the guys that fixes the MVM's told me that the credit card gets blocked for the rest of the day after 2 uses, but a debit card would not get blocked since your pin has priority, whatever that means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtehpanda Posted November 28, 2013 Share #25 Posted November 28, 2013 Oh really? I've been hearing that for years... Think about it though... I can use my MetroCard for everything (express bus, local bus, subway, etc.) but not the LIRR or Metro-North... The MTA is saying that the Metrocard must be replaced by 2019, at which point the system will cost way too much to maintain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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