Month: December 2008

MTA Doomsday Rate Raping OK’d

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The MTA approved the doomsday budget yesterday that will allow them to hike the fares starting as early as Thursday this week.  The new budget would/will need to be approved tomorrow (Wednesday), and the new fare would kick in Thursday.

How much? Single rides would be $2.50.  The monthly unlimited Metrocard would jump to $104 at least (official source).   It could be more if the MTA picked the plan that had no service cuts.  However, it looks like there will be some service cuts in addition to the fare increase to keep the actual financial burden as low as possible.

So should I go buy 12 unlimited Metrocards right now while they are still just $81 ?  Will they be honored?  Technically, they don’t activate until their first use.

Subway Cheapskate Makes Out on Leftover Fare

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Stack of Metrocards

Turns out it’s not just the homeless guys that pick up the tossed Metrocards to try and to use the leftover values.

The Post reports that Georgette DiFini, an F line resident of Brooklyn, regularly picks up discarded Metrocards.  She claims that roughly 40% of all tossed cards have at least some money left on them.  Not enough for a ride though.

You might be asking yourself how on earth would anyone be left with anything less than a whole dollar on their Metrocard.  Well, it’s that tricky 15% bonus you get on any fare purchase over $7.00.  If you get a $7 card, you’re going to get bonused $1.05.  That damn $0.05 is going to carry over.

The MTA says simply refill your card to use the leftover bonus.  So in this case, you’d have to add another $0.95 to cover the remaining balance of a $2.00 fare.  It’s like the MTA is getting their ideas from the crack dealer’s handbook.  Get just a little taste extra to keep them coming back.  The $1.05 isn’t worth a damn thing.  They’ll need to spend another $0.95 to be able to use it.

Anyway, this woman finds these cards everyday. How many you ask?  Try around 45 a day!

The then takes her loot up to the tokenbooth to rollover the balance onto her card.  She’s making about $10 a week she says.

Not a bad idea if you don’t mind fighting the bums for their finds.

What happens to all the “change” that never gets used?  The MTA keeps it of course.  That change adds up to about $4 million a year.  That’s a $4 million donation New Yorkers make to the MTA a few cents at a time.

Wall Collapse & Subway Delays

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Was anyone delayed by the wall collapse on Lexington in the 30’s today?

Apparently, there was a 10 foot wall that collapsed at a construction site.  Emergency officials evacuated a neighboring building as a precaution because they feared that the ground movement might make the foundation of that building unstable.  It wasn’t really that bad though.

Then they ordered the MTA to slow train traffic on the 4, 5, and 6 through the area.  The train vibration can cause more ground settling.

Just wondering if there really was a big delay or not.  I’d imagine not.  Probably just right when it happened.

People in my office were flipping out that another building had collapsed.  Uhhhhh no.  Go back to work.

Resident Discount Metrocards

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So here’s an idea that came to my mind.  I’m sure I am not the first one to think of this, so I’m by no means trying to take credit.  I’m just trying to initiate the discussion.

What if Metrocards were priced based on residency?

People living in the 5 boros would receive a significant discount on Metrocards while people from out of town would pay the higher rate.

Let’s assume that the price of all fares are going up.  With that in mind, let’s make the out of towner rate a premium and residence get a break.  Maybe the price of a monthly unlimited card goes up to just $90 for residence.

You could sell them like TransitCheks.  Residents would simply receive their cards via mail or from their employers.  Or maybe it is just one card that automatically gets renewed month to month.  That way you would be able to verify who is a resident.

You could attach it to drivers liscences or ID cards even!

Just an idea.

New South Ferry Station Set to Open

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The Old South Ferry Station pictured here.
The Old South Ferry Station pictured here.

MTA’s officials gave the press tours of the new South Ferry station that is expected to open next month.

Many reporters made comments about how clean it was, as it it were a hospital wing.  The fancy new station cost about $500 million to build directly under the current South Ferry station.

What does this mean for straphangers?  Once it opens, you’ll never hear a train conductor say that you have to be in one of the front five cars at South Ferry ever again.  The new station allows all 10 cars to platform.

The current South Ferry station is a gem.  It was opened just two years after the subway opened!  However, the turn is so sharp and the platform so short that only five cars are able to pull up to it.  So that meant riders would have to keep track what car they were in if they planned to get off.  Otherwise, they’d have to walk forward to another car or be stuck.

The new station has elevators and escalators as well as one of the more sophisticated security systems in the entire subway.

Being right all the time gets boring

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So like I said, the rain is bad news.

My ride home was all f-ed up.  I got onto the platform only to see 10,000 other people already waiting for the train delayed due to rain.

By pure miracle, I made it onto the first train that finally came 15 minutes later.  People were getting so pissed that they left the station (to go back out into the rain!).  It just so happened that a guy in front of me got fed up and left.  A minute later, the train came and a door lined up with me perfectly.

The train immediately switched from a local to an express train…pissing off many.

So yeah, being right all the time is getting pretty old.

WTF? A $107 Metrocard in the Works

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Metrocard bus

For that price, it had better come with at least two drinks.

The latest news is the very real possibility of subway fares going over $100 for monthly cards.  I call bullsh*t there not because of the price necessarily, but what we get.

I love the lead from the Daily News:

Brace yourself for the C-note MetroCard.

It is so true.

Anyway, back to my point about what we get.  Here’s the breakdown of what we could be facing in a C-note fare world.  A 30 day Metrocard goes from $81 to $104 with service cuts -OR- $107 without.

So basically, you’re going to get raped for a new Metrocard, it’s just a matter of how hard.  If you want to get your ass slapped with a $104 fare and decreased services (the double whammy), that’s one option.  If you want to get raped for $107, but still enjoy the same crap services you’ve always received, that’s the other whammy.

Notice that there was no fare for BETTER service than what we have now.  How about a $125 rate structure where we could actually benefit from better technology, faster service, less frequent breakdowns, and a fresh coat of paint.  Nooooooo…why think of that.

It’s way more fun for politicians use their chewing gum to plug the leaks in the dam than actually fix the problem.

A bit of rain for the next few days. Will the trains hold up?

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I guess only time will tell.  When there’s back to back days of solid rain, it can cause some big issues on the subway.  For whatever reason, the subway and water just don’t mix.

It is kind of ironic that an massive system of underground tunnels build on an island at the mouth of a major river completely melts down when the water gets even the slightest bit high.  Poor planning?  I’m just saying.

Also, the manager of my home subway stop clearly cannot wait to start salting the stairs.  Either that or he has more bags of salt than he can store.  Everyday for the last week, there’s been obscene amounts of salt on the stairs.  It actually has made the stairs more treacherous because you feel like you’re walking down gravel planks.

It’s been fairly warm and dry so the salt just sits there.

A little sprinkle here and there would probably be a good idea when it gets below freezing at night, but it has been so warm lately.

Of course, we’ll get a foot of snow in January, and we’ll need to bring our own shovels to get down to the train.

Kid Slips in Gap

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This morning, right before my eyes, I saw a kids slip in the gap between the platform and the subway train.  I was standing about 6 feet away.

He came running down the platform as the doors were closing.  He stuck his foot out as the doors were closing but missed.  I’m assuming he was trying to get his foot in the door to keep them open because his mom was trailing behind.  He looked to be about 12 or 13 years old.  Tall and lanky.

So he came running up to the train (I was already on board facing the door).  He jumped with one foot out but it hit the outside of the door and slid down.  With that, he fell with one leg down in the gap right up to his hip.  The other leg and rest of his body were still on the platform.

A guy standing in the doorway also saw the whole thing and stuck his foot in the door when he saw the kid slip.  He fought the doors as he bent down to pull the kid back up.

The platform had a new plastic edge…the yellow kind.  He cut his hand a little bit on it as he fell.  Nothing major but that’s the only injury he complained of.

Almost by magic, two police officers were right there helping the kid get up too.  Eventually one put his foot in the door to to keep it open.

The kid ended up fine and got right on with us.  He joked about it with the guy that helped him get back up.

The kicker of it is the train door operator kept trying to close the doors!  Even with a kid’s leg in the gap, a passenger holding one door, and a cop holding the other, the dick running the doors kept trying to close them.  The second officer had his flashlight out trying to signal them to stop, but they never poked their head out the window like they are supposed to.

So if this ever happens to you, take note.  You’d better move it or lose it.

Naked Subway Guy

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You know, this isn’t even one of the more shocking things you’d see in the subway.  It probably wouldn’t even create much of a commotion.

However, walk your naked ass into the middle of a super crowded train car, and you’d have some issues.  The last thing any New Yorker would allow is some naked dude rubbing up against them.