On the heels of the latest news that once again the MTA is out of money, they devised a fool-proof system to ensure that they would take in LESS revenue than possible. For two days the metrocard machines have not been accepting credit or debit cards system-wide. While I find this outrageous, I appear to be a party of one in this. As a bus rider, it has been incredibly annoying to walk out of my way to the subway station - four times in the past two days - to try to buy a new monthly metrocard. Two token booth attendants (rare that they are) seemed completely oblivious to the problem, but one of them told me that sometimes problems are bigger than they appear. A sage, that one.
It's astonishing to think that it's only been since 1993 that you can even use a credit card to buy a metrocard, and we were never able to use a credit card to buy a token. I do remember the thrill of not having to scrape up cash to buy a subway ride, kind of like charging a meal at McDonald's, it seemed kind of wrong and uncomfortable.
On the plus side, I've been riding the bus for free for two days since I haven't had the $89 cash on hand to buy a new monthly. And since most of the stations no longer have attendants, but do have wide open turnstiles, I am pretty sure that people without cash are jumping like deer.
The husband did finally get to the bank tonight and then buy me a card, but alas, no receipt, so that brings me to my next project of trying to get reimbursed from my transportation flex account before the year is over. When will we finally be rid of paperwork?
1 comment:
Ah, I had a similar problem last week and thought I was the only one!
No cards accepted on Canal St and no way for me to get any cash. I had to run up to Spring St to get a ticket and by then, I was late for my cardiologist appointment and stressed out. By the time I got there, my heart was palpitating, so the doctor ordered me to wear a heart monitor. On the way back, my refilled card read as a zero balance. The booth attendant just waived me off and said there was nothing he could do about it. After I threw a bit of a fit and set off the monitor, he opened the gate for me.
If there had been any signs saying "cash only" anywhere, I would have gone a different way and avoided this mess. Thanks, MTA.
Post a Comment