Even if I was only a couple trips shy of the break even point I'd consider the card worthwhile. I wouldn't have to carry around change (plus) and never have to worry about not being able to pay (plus) and its easier to budget for (plus).

So what if I lose out on $3 for all those plusses?

My family loves the unlimited cards. Taking trains and buses into account we make about 4 trips a day. So easily break even.

I guessing most people who get the unlimited card use transit checks from work. Which from my understanding come from your pretax income So there really not paying for it.

The graph clearly shows that the average is higher then the break even point, thus the cards are a good buy for the majority of the people who have them.

Can't edit :( Another good thing about the card is if you loose it you can get your money back if you used a Credit card to buy the card. Not sure if the MTA refunds money on a pay per trip card

100 trips? in a month? really?

I don't care. I use public transportation at least 2 times a day, and often 3 times. Even on weekends I still have use of the card since a family member uses it anyway. Calculating how much I spend if I didn't have an unlimited, it would be about $100.

@Nissan288: That's just a bit more than 3 a day.

To work, from work, then somewhere in the evening/for lunch.

Doesn't seem that hard to me, but then again if you've never lived in NYC I can see how it would seem strange.

I used to only to to-from work 5 days a week (This was when it was still $76 for unlimited and $2.00 a ride with a $2.00 bonus after $10)

I always bought a PPR card because it only cost me $68 per month (considering the free trips)

I don't use the subway anymore so it doesn't matter.... However, my unlimited Air Train card ($40) pays for itself in 2 work days (I enter at Howard Beach and exit at Jamaica & vice-versa).... It's an awesome value considering if I used PPR for Air Train, it would cost me $400 (4 paid trips per day x 20 work days x $5 per trip)

@Mollyg: That's a good point.

The graph does seem to show that most people who have the card do better than break even and this does make sense for anyone who has to use the card for work (i.e. 2x a day M-F). On an average month that already puts them at around 40 trips just to get to and from work. In the course of a month I'm sure most people would then use another 6 trips easily to hit the break even mark.

I always had unlimited cards in New York, until the last 4 weeks I lived there and knew I wouldn't make it.

22 work days in a month = 44 rides. It's really, REALLY easy to come up with two more MetroCard swipes in an average30-day period. Just going shopping and running errands and meeting a friend for dinner, on a Saturday, can use 4 swipes.

Now here in DC, where using the Metro costs an arm and a leg per trip, it's a little different...

I went through this in DC with the unlimited bus card when I commuted by bus every day. It's $11 a week versus $1.25 a ride individually (assuming Smarttrip use).

I found I didn't take the bus every day but there was a huge mental value in being able to hop on any bus, anytime and not worry about the cost. It didn't matter how far I was going or whether the bus ultimately took me where I was going. If there's a bus heading my direction, hop on!

@EtoilePB: True, although Metro is more of a hybrid subway/commuter rail so comparing a trip from Gaithersburg to DC is more like a Metro North comparison than an NYC subway.

@Mollyg: The cards SHOULD be a good buy for everyone who uses them -- the fact that 25-30% of NYC unlimited pass holders are flushing money down the toilet is a little disconcerting.

Riders were trained to use the unlimited ride cards when the cost per trip savings made the break even point at many fewer rides. But since the MTA is grossly incompetent, they have continued to increase fares. Fares on the unlimited rides are the first to go up. Soon the cards will cost so much the break even point will be 8 rides a day and everyone will keep buying the cards because they think its cheaper.

I think a missing piece of this puzzle is, those who may have been below the break even point one month may have been above the point another month.

The graph above just shows the usage per card. If I use my February card 60 times because it's cold, but happen to walk more and use my May card less because it's nice out, I probably even out on the 'worth it' side. But if I plan for that 'hmm, May is nice, so I'll not get the monthly card', and it rains 15 days of that month, I lose.

And as xmark said, for many, the convenience is probably worth the extra $.

Ever been in a hurry and have to stand in a rush hour long line to buy a metro pass? Swiping a card just to breeze through can be worth a lot in convenience.

I must be an extremely active person, because I use my card well over 100 times in a month. I assumed everyone else did to?

The break even point is lower for companies who subsidize the cost of an unlimited Metro Card, and this isn't reflected in the MTA's statistics. I used to get a fully subsidized pass on the MBTA in Boston and while I only used it a handful of times a month, it sure was nice to know I had the world of public transit at my fingertips.

You feel more powerful with an unlimited card in your hands. It's more than just the money, it's the not having to scrounge for change or stop at a kiosk to re-up your card (or, in those days, buy tokens).

Maybe they just over estimated the amount of times they'd be riding the subway.

20 working days a month * 2 rides a day = 40

Looks like a pretty huge drop below 40 on the graph.

Given that the curve looks like a proper distribution, even skewed slightly towards overuse, the "below 46ers" are a natural effect. The break-even is designed to take that into account. It's a business choice. Educate the customers to shift the curve to the right and they'll likely raise the price or restrict usage, shifting the break-even along with it.

I get the unlimited card, and I am just under the break even point. I usually take 10 rides a week, and the break even point is 10.5. But, I get the unlimited so I only have to get one card a month. Also, if you purchase an unlimited card with a credit, debit or ATM card the MTA automatically insures it in case it gets lost or stolen. So even if the individual rides are cheaper, the convenience and insurance make it a better deal.

I used to work for a company that paid for my monthly transit pass (and they do the same for those in their NYC office). If you're getting the pass for free from work, why not take it?

Huh. In Chicago you could get a rechargable card that worked either as a monthly pass or as pay per ride, and if you linked it with a credit card it would automatically recharge either way. Pretty much the only maintenance you would have to do yourself at that point would be updating your billing information.

Unless I'm well below the threshold, I'd rather have unlimited. I hate feeling nickled and dimes, and I'd hate to not take trips because I kept thinking about the fare cost.

In Boston, with the MBTA's LinkPass, the breakeven point is at 34.7 subway or subway+bus rides. That's trivial to get if you commute (18 work days will do it); if not, you only have to average 1.25 one-way rides per day, even in February of a non-leap year.

If your employer participates in the corporate pass program, you the convenience of automatic renewal, pre-tax payments, and possibly some level of employer subsidy. If they pay for half of it, and you pay for the other half with pretax money, you're out of pocket something like $20-25 depending on your tax bracket; break-even is then about 15 rides a month, or two round trips a week.

I use an unlimited Metro card and I'm enrolled in my company's transit check program. Having to use my card twice a day (that's to and from work), for other work-related ventures, and my personal weekend use (I prefer to stay in my neighborhood... I'd say that I use about... on average... 4 weekend trips per months), it's a deal for me. Plus with the Transit Check program, the unlimited monthly card fee is deducted from my check pre-tax, so I save $300 + a year.

I know I break even, but even if I didn't I like having the peace of mind that getting off at the wrong stop or just going out at night won't cost me extra.

My riding in Denver on RTD is damn close to the break even point if all you do is look at the price of a monthly pass and the number of trips I take.

However, by using the service my company offers, I get my passes mailed to me every month (very convenient) and I save a little bit because the passes are taken out pre-tax like health insurance.

When you factor in the lack of worry about monitoring my transit usage for trips other than work commuting, it still makes sense if I overpay RTD every now and then. At least my money's going towards supporting a good cause.

@ChristopherDavis: This is great for me because I take two buses to get to work. Plus I enjoy it renewing every month because I would definitely forget to go to a station and buy a new one.

When visiting a city with a good mass transit system, I make it a point to try to find out about unlimited weekly passes. For out-of-towners, it is a godsend to be able to figure that you are heading west toward the Bay, just grab anything going that direction and worry about route maps later...

Even if you're only there 3 days, it still beats driving or trying to get taxis.

The pure "financial" breakeven doesn't take into consideration all the other benefits that outweigh pure 1:1 $$ accounting on this.

1) MUCH less stress
2) Improved time processing ticket
3) Less investment of time vs. spent buying and accounting for <46 individual rides
4) Money supports a public good AND gives direct benefits
5) Encourages more use of the system thus making oil-laden politicians more accountable to support public transit.

on and on.

When I have jobs that make unlimited Public Transit cards viable, I buy them and use them to expand my lifestyle toward making greater use of them. If I overspend by a few bucks over individual cards or driving, I still come out ahead.

For me, this time of year, it is not worth it. I walk to work in the morning from Penn station (about 2o minutes) and sometimes I walk back as well.
I've been keeping track of how often I use it, and even in the winter, it is barely worth it.

At our office we have a 132 transportation plan (the same thing as Transitchek, just employer administered), that only allows you to make a change in deduction once per quarter. That locks you in to a set fee.

In order to make life easier, I just take a monthly at $81 and the two months of the year I know I will be out on vacation for a week I take a pay per ride.

Since I, like most NYCers, don't own a car. I use the subway or bus to get EVERYWHERE. Do you know what a pain it is when your metrocard is out of cash and there is no agent and no working vending machine? The once a month convenience is worth the occasional month where I don't make up the two or four rides to break even.

Additionally the guarantee that if it's lost or stolen will give me a refund is GREAT. That guarantee is only on unlimiteds. Do you know how much it sucks to lose a PPR metrocard with $20 or $40 or even more on it and have no way of getting that money back? The unlimited gets you the funds back within 5 days of filing the claim, while it's only good for 2x per year, it's totally worth it. Do you know how many times I had a toddler take it out of my bag and misplace it???

All that being said, if you are not commuting at least 5 days per week, it's a better choice to go PPR and not put more than $20 on it at a shot.

here in atlanta, a MARTA one way fare is $1.75. a 20 trip card is $30 and a monthly unlimited card is $52.50. once i quickly realized i would be paying $60 a month for my trips to work, i opted for the unlimited.

another bonus - on board entertainment like soulja girl.

The common sense approach to anything that gives you unlimited service is to find out much you normally spend and determine if your normal expense is above or below what the unlimited expense would be. Rocket scientist not need to be present to determine basic math. But I can understand that some people might have a hard time determining what they spend on transportation since most people don't keep a budget (me included, but at least I know how much I spend on things).

Most months I'd used the monthly pass on the MBTA system in Boston. When I got laid off, I still wanted the pass, even though I wasn't going to be using it as often, if only to feel like I didn't have to pay for each ride. It's definitely psychological in that way. I'm more willing to go out somewhere or travel around town if I know it's not going to cost me any more. Last month I bought the pass, this month I'm trying the pay per ride setup, and I'm going to see what's better when you're not commuting every day.

I wish DC had this. Metro gets very expensive here.

@RagingBoehner: It's not necessarily that folks are regularly flushing money down the toilet. . . There are various reasons why someone might have an unlimited pass and then not use it enough for it to pay off.

For one, they may be using pre-tax dollars to buy the pass (so it costs them less after-tax money, changing the break-even point). For another, they may usually use it often enough to break even, but then this month they became unexpectedly ill and were off work a few days or a week (or the company unexpectedly sent them on a business trip), dropping them below the break-even point.

But then, there are probably quite a few incapable of doing the math and paying more than they need to.

@xmarkd400x:
Unlimited passes only count for just you. Pay-per-ride will work for up to four people.
[www.mta.info]

Unlimited cards expire within the specified time period (7, 14, or 30 days) after your first use, and if unused expire in a year. You need to mail it to the MTA to get that addressed. Pay-Per Ride cards expire a year after your last use, and you have two-years to get any remaining balance transferred to a new card at any subway booth.
[www.mta.info]

They even have one now that will automatically refill to your "minimum" using your debit/credit card: [www.mta.info]

Pay-Per Ride with the discount always seemed to be the wiser choice IMHO.

You should investigate this curve in some other heavy commuter markets. Here in DC we don't have a one month unlimited offering. I wish we did. We do have a one-week unlimited card which is a no-brainer for some outlying commuters. The math is easy: 10 trips at $4.30 = $43 versus the card at $39. Then, DC Metro offers pretax through employers dropping that down to about $33. You could do the same for straight trips as well though. But it leaves a $4 gap per week ($16 per month) and it adds so much convenience. No worries about short trips or errands taken via Metro during lunch or after. I only wish that A) they'd integrate it into their SmartCards -- something on the horizon, they say B) an unlimited Metro card that includes bus transit C) A month-long unlimited option.

NYC Metro offering seems to be following a similar pattern to all you can eat mobile services -- people just can't use enough to justify it. Recent reports bore this out. Sorely tempted by 'more minutes' a quick check of my usage revealed it wasn't worth it. I just didn't use them. Same went with Netflix ~ it wasn't possible to watch them all. And the same went with Vonage ~ unlimited sounds great, but we never broke 500 minutes. In all cases, stepping down meant a lower cost and a more accurate reflection of actual usage.

It's like buying that gallon of mayo. It may seem like it's the deal (lowest cost per ounce, minute, etc.), but in two months when it starts molding, that excess proves to be a stinky waste. It's hard to resist that more is better when in some ways it is. But it's all too often just a lure that often does not pay off, as is the case in NYC.

I wish the DC Metro had this. I pay their highest rate each way (4.50) and without the monthly transit subsidy from my employer, it would get very expensive.

I always use right at the break-even point -- some months I'm a little over, some a little under. But what the others have said is true: not having to wonder if my card is running out/miss the train because I'm trying to feed a wrinkled $20 into a grumpy machine is worth occasionally fronting the MTA a few bucks, especially as I make it up other months.

If I hadn't bought an unlimited card when I lived in NYC, I would have never gone anywhere. I worked two or three different jobs which meant 3-4 trips in one day. I was so broke I often didn't have the extra cash for a subway trip. I still have the last one I bought back in Dec 1997 in my scrapbook. I wonder if it's still good?

My guess/hope is that a lot of the people behind the break even point are getting passes from their employers.

$81 for no-limit transit per month? Nooyockas are getting a steal! You ought to compare that $81/mo for unlimited rides with the cost of comparable transit passes in other cities -- my current Seattle area transit pass is $126/mo and it covers rides somewhere in the mid-above-median fare range.

I guess that's what happens when your city is really, truly, no-crap, must-have serious about transit, instead of being sort-of, kinda-shoulda-woulda, nice-to-have, good-idea, pet-project about it.

@theblackdog: You need to sign up for the Weekly Fast Pass. It's $39, saving you six bucks a week. You can buy them at the fare machine, or buy them in bulk -- a month's worth -- through the Commuter store.

In Chicago 5 years ago, the monthly unlimited ride pass was $75, and I very easily got $100 worth of rides off it.

@RagingBoehner: "the fact that 25-30% of NYC unlimited pass holders are flushing money down the toilet is a little disconcerting."

I think it's great.

That means that MTA can keep ticket prices lower than if everyone was using their tickets the most effective way possible.

The more the merrier, I say.

Are they tax deductible? Canadians can claim passes on their income tax (but it's limited to monthly ones, I believe. I'm a walker so it's a little off my radar.)

Since moving to LA and using the metro here I REALLY appreciate the MTA in NYC. The unlimited metro card was fantastic. I agree with some of the other posters, it sure beats having to stand in line to purchase a ticket. In my experience, if you have to buy a ticket that is ALWAYS when the train comes. I like to be able to just swipe my card and get on.
Here you either buy a ticket EVERY TIME you get on a train and even when you switch trains or buy a pass for $68/month. Unlike NYC an unlimited pass here to me is useless. There is no way I would ever use the metro that much. It does really suck to have to buy a pass each and everytime I use the train though.

When I was in university, I preferred to get a card, even though I knew for a fact that I wasn't going to use it enough to make it cheaper every month. If I had to buy tokens, every trip I took off campus would make me thing 'Is this worth the $4 round trip?' I'd often decide not to make a quick run for groceries, or go meet a friend for a movie, because it seemed like too much cost to do it.

Even though my TTC pass cost more in the end, I didn't have to make the decision every single time. And while that was probably bad consumer behaviour, it made an appreciable difference in my social life.

@Pixelantes Anonymous: too true. It's no coincidence that the break even point is in the center of the graph. If people started riding more, MTA would increase the price of the pass to move the break even point to the right... thereby keeping it in the center of the graph.