While a number of other U.S. cities’ mass transit systems have already moved beyond plastic swipe cards and now use fobs or other smart keys, New York City with more than 450 subway stops, nearly 250 miles of track, and around 600 buses, has not made that next-gen leap. But now the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will finally begin to phase out the use of MetroCards over the coming years. [More]
transit
Why Does It Matter If Your Train Operator Has A Snoring Problem?
By 11.22.16
For most people, snoring is a minor annoyance — and usually for the loved one of the snorer. But if that snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea, it could be a health issue that leaves you working through the day without a full night’s rest. That’s particularly problematic if your job involves controlling a massive train carrying hundreds of people at high speeds.
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Philadelphia Latest City To Try Using Pee-Repelling Paint In Transit System
By 9.16.16
What’s a city transit agency to do when people won’t stop urinating all over the walls of its stations? There’s a pee-repelling paint for that, and Philadelphia is the latest to consider using the stuff in an effort to clean up public spaces. [More]
You Can Make Almost $100K A Year Finding Ideal Bathrooms For Seattle Bus Drivers
By 3.4.15
It might be smelly work, but somebody’s gotta do it: Seattle officials are looking to hire a “Comfort Station Coordinator” in Seattle, a veritable Goldilocks tasked with finding bathrooms that are just right for bus drivers. And stench aside, the gig pays pretty well, at a salary of $97,000 per year. [More]
NYC Officials Would Like To Remind Everyone To Please Refrain From Peeing On The Subway Platform
By 3.3.15
While there are some things one might hope wouldn’t need spelling out, if you want to get your message across, you’ve got to be clear. That’s why New York City’s transit officials felt the need to spell it out for patrons of the subway system, with a sign asking people to please not pee on the platform. [More]
N.J. PATH Escalator Does What We’re Always Afraid Of & Suddenly Reverses Direction
By 1.7.13
Anyone who’s ever dealt with a crowded daily commute on public transit, or heck, anyone who’s ever been on an escalator has likely had that feeling of, “What if it suddenly A. turns into a ramp and I slide backward into everyone below me B. reverses direction and we all crash into each other or C. something gets caught in the teeth and it eats me?” Commuters at a New Jersey PATH station faced scenario B this morning, in an incident that caused multiple injuries. [More]
Locked In A Greyhound Bathroom For More Than An Hour
By 8.25.11
What’s worse than using the bathroom on a bus? Getting locked in there for an hour and a half. Barbara’s mother decided to use facilities half an hour before her bus was due at its destination, but miscommunication meant that a mechanic was never summoned, and she remained trapped for an hour and fifteen minutes. [More]
Metrolink Addresses Confusing Wording Regarding Monthly Passes
By 3.19.09
It looks like someone at Metrolink in Southern California reads The Consumerist, because their communications manager responded today to yesterday’s post about some potentially confusing language on their website. He even posted a suggested revision to the language in an attempt to clear it up, and is asking for reader feedback.
SoCal's Metrolink Monthly Pass Doesn't Work The Way You Probably Think
By 3.19.09
Dillon is in college, and he tried to save money by buying a monthly pass on the Metrolink transit system in Southern California. The problem is that Metrolink does a terrible job of explaining how the monthly pass works, and their own staff gives out incorrect information to customers buying the pass for the first time. Now Dillon faces a $250 citation for fare evasion because it turns out he could only use his pass for the upcoming month.
Are Unlimited Ride MetroCards A Good Deal? Not For A Lot Of People Who Use Them
By 7.16.08
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.
NYC Subway Gets More Expensive For Most Riders
By 12.19.07
NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to raise subway fares today.
Only 3 Of 26 Items Turned In To NYC Transit Workers Made It To The Lost & Found
By 12.14.07
“Obviously, the results are disturbing,” said the inspector general, Barry L. Kluger. He added that the investigation was not meant “as a sting operation” and that it was not possible to know if the missing items were stolen by transit employees or simply “wound up in the bottom of a drawer or in a wastebasket.”
DC Scraps Zone System, Cabbies Threaten To Strike
By 10.20.07
Cab rides in Washington will soon be cheaper thanks to Mayor Adrian Fenty’s decision to scrap the DC’s antiquated and expensive zone system in favor of the modern meter system found in any respectable city. Cheaper fares for residents means less profit for cabbies. Said one: “There is no way we can make a living on a [time-and-distance] meter.”
“The talk of a strike is in the formulation plans,” said Nathan Price, a driver for Yellow Cab Company of D.C. Inc. and a spokesman for the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association (PTDA).
Are Town Cars Exempt from the $10 Transit Strike Limit?
By 12.20.05
Friends of ours have been charged way more than usual for car rides to and from work in New York today, never once having left the zone. We were under the impression that the livery rules also applied to hired car services? Are we just wrong?
Transit Strike Comes to a Head
By 12.20.05
Even thought this transit strike is a pain, let us take a moment to reflect on the opportunities it brings for that oldest of consumer transactions: trading blowjobs for car rides.
Taxi and Livery Vehicle Rules Updated for Strike
By 12.20.05
We realize this isn’t a New York-only site (thank god for that, actually), but this whole transit strike has got us all a bit mixed up. This one goes out to my commuting homies.
