The New York Times had an article today about the 10 year anniversary of the unlimited MetroCard and how it has transformed way people use the subway. They even included a graph that showed how many times people are using their cards in a month. What they didn’t mention is that a lot of people are buying the card and not hitting the “break even” point of 46 rides per month. Hmm.
For those of you not familiar with NYC’s MetroCard system, it works like this: If you buy individual rides, after $7 you get a 15% bonus, making your ride cost $1.74 instead of $2.00. The unlimited card costs $81. So to “break even” you’d need to take about 46 trips within 30 days, or 1.5 trips every day — even on weekends. Obviously, there are a lot of people using unlimited MetroCards when they would be better off buying trips in bulk. Why are they doing this? Who knows. Maybe they don’t have to pay for the cards themselves. Still, it’s a lesson that can be applied to “unlimited” deals of all types. Make sure to do a little math before you buy an unlimited pass.
Subway and Bus Fares [MTA]
In Decade of Unlimited Rides, MetroCard Has Transformed How the City Travels [NYT]
It’s the distribution, stupid [frumination via BuzzFeed]
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@[consumerist.com] – you can share cards – they are not limited to an individual, say like the Egged monthly bus cards in Israel. That means if you work the day shift and your spouse works the night shift, you could ostensibly pass off the card to one another. BUT, and it’s a big BUT, you can’t use the cards for re-entry for 18 minutes from the first swipe.
The people who really do the best on the unlimited metrocards are messengers who often times need two unlimiteds to work – because you cannot swipe a card for 18 minutes.
For example, if I ride the subway one stop, get out do my thing and then try to swipe again within 18 minutes of the initial swipe, it will deny me entry. So no, you and your friend could not swipe two times at the same time to ride together. Although I have seen plenty of people swipe, hand it back to their friend/spouse, and wait 18 minutes on the other side of the turnstile for the card to become valid again. Depends on how broke/thrifty/desperate you are.
@jenl1625:
Why would using pre-tax $ change the breakeven point? You can buy pay-per-ride metrocards with pre-tax $ as well.
@forgottenpassword: Sorry that comment above was for forgotten password.
@AidelMaidel:
Actually, you can’t swipe twice _at the same stop_ for 18 minutes. You can swipe at Times Square at 10AM, ride to Penn Station, get off, exit, and re-enter at 10:14AM, no problem.
@JustThatGuy3: You can only buy pre-tax if your employer offers it. There are plenty of hourly employees in NYC who don’t get this benefit. Doing $81/per month pre-tax on a 26 week payroll only changes my take home by about $20-30 per paycheck. That feels to me like I’m getting an $81 benefit for half price.
@jenl1625:
The one really dumb thing is that there’s a $115 ceiling on the amount you can spending monthly on public transport and have it come from pre-tax $, but a $220 ceiling on commuter parking costs. Why the tax code gives a bigger benefit to people who drive than take the train is beyond me.
@krom: Gotta love the irony of giving transit subsidies to those fortunate enough to have a job.
@JustThatGuy3: [www.detnews.com]
@KernelM: The Chicago Card is pretty amazing, I think. Since you can switch between a “refillable” card that deducts money per ride and the flat-rate version just by going to the website and changing your settings, it’s really easy to adjust for usage. I had the flat-rate card for years, and even in months when I wasn’t quite hitting the break-even point, the extra money was worth it to me for the convenience.
Also, the card works for both busses and trains, so it’s pretty easy to hit the 3 or 4 rides a day it takes to break even.
Now if only the CTA’s customer service phone tree wasn’t so godawful.
@JustThatGuy3: Sorry, might as well add the text:
Auto lobby spends $70 million
Efforts to influence fuel economy standards largely drive record figure; GM leads industry with $14M.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The automotive industry spent a record $70.3 million lobbying Congress in 2007
Seems a bit like the ole college meal plan to extract maximum profit from students that will fail to meet the breakeven requirements of the plan.
I always get the value and then some. I think the best I got one month was about 90¢ a ride. Then again it pays to know your patterns and what is best for you.
I have explained to wayward tourists the whole concept and wind up saving them money, plus giving them a positive New York experience.
@dweebster: It’s not irony. It’s a benefit, like health insurance or vacation time.
My employer gives us a $60 transit subsidy for those of us who live in the city. The rest of the cost of the card is taken out before taxes. During the winter I definitely use more than the break even. During the summer, my main form of transportation is a bicycle, so I’ve started selling my monthly cards to friends for a profit and doing pay per ride for myself. It’s like free money.
@Kajj: True story. I never thought I’d actually be COMPLIMENTING the CTA but I guess I have the best of both worlds with my Pay-per-use Chicago Card (smartcards), where I get the same discount as unlimited, get it purchased pre-tax for me, and I can choose to put my $65 a month on (I don’t quite ride enough to make to the $75 unlimited, or did it go up to $81 after all? Plus a transfer is only 25 cents, which seems to be any time you swipe within 3 hours of your last swipe, so when running errands/transferring buses, my rides don’t really add up). Now if only my super awesome Chicago Card hadn’t magically partially deactivated itself so that it won’t always read, but I guess we can’t expect the CTA to be perfect…
Also, am I understand you that some of your employers PAY for your transit cards?? Mine is just facilitated by them. That is mind blowingly awesome. Yay supporting public transportation!
As an NYC gal transplanted to DC, I sorely miss the unlimited Metrocard. My husband easily spends about 200$ a month commuting. 81$ a month would be a bargain. We once joked that the people of NYC would mutiny if the MTA used DC style pricing. wouldnt it cost like 6 bucks to get from Coney Island to the Bronx?
I envy all of you with your efficient and comprehensive mass transit systems. Here in L.A., I would have to take 3 buses to travel 8 miles from home to work. The total trip time would be 1 hour and 20 minutes. And there’s a 40 minute “layover” in there waiting for the 3rd bus. So, I would have to leave home at 6:45 am to make it to work before 8:30. Driving, I leave home at 8:10. Sometimes, the MTA is convenient, and when it is, you can’t beat the sixty-some-odd dollar pass, especially with gas prices the way they are. I just can’t wait until the system here gets better.
@JustThatGuy3: Also, some employers don’t let you change it that often or only let you have them in certain amounts. At my company, you can have them in intervals of $15, and it takes two pay period to process a change.
It’s about time that the Consumerist puts up an article like this one!
Personally, I think I get my money’s worth when I do go to college. In all but one semester, my classes are spread out over 5 days, so I swipe my card at least twice (if not more, if I choose to make a detour) a day.
On Saturday and Sunday, I pass the card to my mom, so she can save $6 (only one ride on Sunday) on travelling to/from work.
I get an unlimited pass for the quarter for the system here in Los Angeles. It’s subsidized by the school so my pass for the quarter is about $50 (I have to be enrolled). So if I do the three quarters + summer session, that’s $200/year. Buying a monthly pass is $52. Parking permit for campus is something like $300/quarter.
Mind you, it’s still about an hour to an hour and a half to go about 12 miles, but the price is great and it’s time I can either study, do homework, knit, read, or play games instead of clenching my wheel, teeth, and sphincter while spewing words of hate.
@FightOnTrojans: I’d openly agree with you, but I think that’d get me expelled.
I have no earthly idea what it costs to run that NYC system, but I’m glad my monthly, unlimited pass on our buses is only $25. Considering I work 20-23 days a week, each trip is $1, I’d be spending at least $40 a month on the bus without the pass.
i used an unlimited for a couple years, even though i was often under then break-even. i lived close to school, generally walked or biked, but hated feeling like i was having to think about the per-trip price if i did multiple errands on the weekends, or if the weather was bad. that benefit was worth the loss of $10/month to me. now, though, i really almost NEVER take the train b/c i live 4 blocks from my job, and as a resident never do much besides work anyway. so, i stopped with the unlimited. no longer worth it.
For me, I probably would be past the break even point IF I bought an unlimited ride card. Because then I’d use it more, including for short journeys where I now walk instead. But I buy by-the-ride in bulk and pay the $1.74/ride, and because I pay for each ride I use it less and stay below the break even point and pay less money overall for public transportation. So what the heck am I trying to say???? I don’t know except that I get to feel good about myself whichever card I buy.
And thank god my commute doesn’t depend on gas prices!
@chrisjames: Ding ding ding!
With this said I didn’t see a need for any response thereafter.
I buy one when I visit the city a week at a time twice a year. The subway is the best way to get arounfd town. I probably use it five or six times a day when visiting. Very convienent and a reasonable price.
@LostAngeles: Bahahahaha! I was reading your comment and knew *exactly* which *school* you go to.
@Yogambo: Good idea, except I can’t apply Smartbenefits funds to buy them.
my company subsidizes my commuting costs, including my unlimited ride card. i receive a free card every month, and use it maybe 5 times a day, which is great. on top of that, my PATH Smartlink card is partially reimbursed, making it a $20 card as opposed to a $54 dollar card. can you guess who I work for?
Getty Images actually, the source that most gawker media sites get many of their their images from. (everyone here loves you guys!)
I’m was actually quite pleased to realize that I’m paying too much for my unlimited metrocard. I recently started biking in to work a few days a week, but I still have the unlimited metrocard that I bought before I started biking. When this card runs out, I’ll switch back to buying a pay-per-ride card.
In the meantime, I just wish they weren’t running shuttle buses for the 1 between 215 and 137. When it is in the upper 90s, I’d rather not bike.
@MercuryPDX: No, it just requires crunching some numbers. I live within the city, I do not drive, and I’m usually taking 4-5 rides a day, seven days a week.
Even without the TransitChek discount, the PPR doesn’t make sense at all for someone like me.
It is always an advantage to study the math and understand what you’re doing.
1. More use of public transit does NOT necessarily mean less oil use and pollution. The NYC subways has it’s own coal fired power stations in the city to prove that point. Walk instead, or better yet, don’t live far from where you work.
2. $81/month is more convenient that $65/month? how? Just because they offer all you can eat doesn’t mean that you should do it.