Wow was I off my subway game today.
I swiped at the turnstile and walked right into the bar. My Metrocard expired and I totally forgot. So like an idiot, I had to squeeze back out and get one.
Then the Metrocard machine I went up to was not working for some reason. It wouldn’t read any of my credit cards. So I had to try another one.
When I finally got through, I got to the bottom of the stairs just as the train was leaving.
Once a train came, and I got on board, I was completely out of my normal position. I kept getting caught in the flows of people getting off at each stop. Normally I get into a spot where I can stand still all the way with minimal movement. This time, it was in a different spot after each stop. Annoying.
Then at my stop, I walked all the way to the end of the concourse only to find that my normal exit was closed off for construction.
It was an all around nightmare. Glad its day one.
SUBWAYblogger 
I find the credit-card-only machines are less likely to read my cards the first swipe…I always use the big ones that accept cash as well (I get TransitChek debit cards from work). My guess is the credit card mechanisms get used a bit less in the big machines and are a bit more likely to work properly, at least on the first swipe.
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@Adam:
Not really, most customers go to the large machines (MVM’S) for everything instead of going to the express machines(MEM’s) which are the smaller machines. So usually when someone is having problems using their debit/credit card on the large machine,we send to the small ones and they get their card real quick. It’s not always the machines that are not working properly, it’s the customers that don’t know how to work the machines.
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I let my card expire yesterday, bought a new one, then forgot it this morning. Super lame.
Regardless, the MTA was way off it’s game this morning. The Lexington lines were royally messed up.
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I hate it when I’m going too fast and my swipe does not work and I bang into the turnstyle. Mt kids do it more often actually. The NJ Transit ones are sharper. There has to be an official name for it.
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@Adam: You know another SUBWAYblogger reader told me that the machines need to be cleaned pretty much daily. The little magnetic sensors in the machine (and turnstile) get gunked up from all the people using them.
Eventually it can get so bad it stops being able to read cards.
A little good old fashioned alcohol based cleaner in there cleans it right up. But I guess it is a never ending problem.
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Wow…that doesn’t seem fun.
It really aggravates me when that happens: I’m in the subway and out of motion. Carrying my card(s) to rush to get to the train while my wallet is out and trying not to bump into people on board.
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