NYC subway tickets

1) SENIOR metrocards are really for locals not so much tourists which is why it is difficult to get them. Per rides fares are not discounted during rushhour so if you are planning to use subway or bus from 6-9 or 4-7 they don't work.

The MTA site is very informative on where and how to buy Metrocards so I don't see why you find it complicated.

http://www.mta.info/metrocard/index.htm
There are machines that take cash and credit at every subway station, Grand Central and some hotels sell them.

You can also load the cards with a set value and use them they run out. Depends on how much traveling you will be doing - are your seniors active? We are late middle age and often take a subway to where we are going but if we are on the go all day take a a taxi back...

Although it is probably not worth the savings for a three day trip, you can apply for a reduced fare metrocard through the mail.

My advice would be to suck it up and buy the regular 7 day fun pass, and give the cards with four days left to someone who looks like they could use it.

I thought the website was rather confusing, too. Particularly the choice of "MetroCard Vending Machines" and "Subway Station Booths" as to where to buy a card. The subway station booth is the manned ticket booth in the subway station--which isn't available everywhere. However, nearly all stations (and every major one) has a vending machine. The vending machines take credit cards.

Yes, senior fares are for locals, not tourists. I think your best bet is buying a 1 or 7-day pass.

Echnaton, not a dumb question at all. If you're only going to be there for three days, you could save a couple of bucks by just buying three one-day passes (8.25 each) versus a one week card (27.00), but maybe the convenience of only going to the fare card machine once might be worth the extra money.

But the other thing to keep in mind is that if you are going to ride fewer than four times a day, it's cheaper to pay per-ride. Plus, you can load up a single card with any amount of money and everyone in your party can use the same card (though this gets a little complicated with more than two or three people, so you might want to buy two separate cards for a party of four for example). And as long as you're putting more than $8 on the card, you get a 15% bonus. So let's say you put $20 on a card, you will actually get $23 in credit, which will pay for 10 rides. That's the cheapest way to go if you are only going to be riding 1, 2, or 3 times a day.

Ignore the first comment about per ride fares not being discounted during rush hour - not sure where this is from - probably NJ transit and Metro North trains

Senior fares are meant for locals - don't waste your time - our transit is cheap

The buy 7 days fares and pass it forward is a nice altruistic answer but since I have no idea what you are planning to do for your few days - it's probably overkill

Now listen carefully - for every 8 or more dollars you put on a per ride card, you get an extra 15% worth of money. Up to 4 of you can share that card by passing a back and (swiping for each in a subway or dipping for each in a bus)

A ride is either a bus ride or a subway ride OR a bus to subway transfer within 2 hours (if it says x xfers - don't swipe again) or a subway to bus xfer within 2 hours (if it says x transfers don't dip again) or a transfer between 2 DIFFERENT buses (uptown/crosstown, not uptown/downtown)

You will probably get by with a lot less than the cost of 8 7 day passes if you buy 2 or 4 per ride cards --- humans take cash - machines take cash or plastic - only 2 transactions per card)

NOtE - have the seniors share cards - many times in buses they will probably allow 2 of them for a ride if they look senior enough

Please go re-read all this at the MTA website:
http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/explorenyc/2010/03/metrocard---the-key-to-nyc.html

And do realize there are no "tickets". The Metrocard has to be swiped in the turnstile and then it comes out and you keep it. You can get one for any amount you want and just keep adding more money - depending on how you plan to travel.

I would NOT get a senior Card - even through the mail - since there is no discount at the busiest times of day.

I would look at where you're staying and where you plan to go to get some idea of ow much you will be using the subway/bus versus feet and cabs. It might e better just to get one day passes for each day you will use the subway.

I am glad i live here so I do not have to live with such confusion.

YOU and me both Adu -- btw -- Brooklyn exposed has decided that bwac is good....

I'll know more on Wed but it seems I'll be counting NYCers in my neighborhood for a few weeks

Whoa.....Unless things have changed recently, seniors can travel for half fare by showing their medicare card at a ticket booth. You then get what amounts to two rides for the price of one.

I'm really confused by the comments that seem to suggest if you have a senior card you can't use it certain times of the day. We were there for a month, got my partner his senior card and a month pass at Stone Street and he used it whenever. What is this deal about not working some times of the day. If you have a senior card, you can then buy a half price pass for whatever length of validity and it works ALL times.

Locals are often brutally unforgiving in not understanding why someone who has never been in the NYC subway and never encountered a metro machine might be confused. It is
VERY understandable.

I'm confused about the senior card too. As far as I know it works all the time but I think it's a waste of energy to get it for a 3 day trip.

I'm confused as to why someone coming to NYC via a transcontinental flight would have a medicare card.

well for starters, maybe they live in Iowa (or any of the other 49 states) and are stopping in New York after a transatlantic flight coming home from London or Paris. Stranger things happen. And we've certainly already established that being a senior is part of the equation.

A "transcontinental" flight is . . . transcontinental . . . no oceans involved. California to New York is transcontinental.

duh. of course it is. I was thrown by that question from the poster before me and thought it was "transatlantic".

Perhaps it was the reference to jetlag. The OP may actually have meant trans-Atlantic.

I would not get a seven day fun pass if you are only going to be here three days.

SueNY and Smetz give sound advice. How often do you actually think you will take the subway in a day? And you can always use the buses which give you a view of the city as well.

Enjoy your time and do not wait on lines for a discount card you will never use again.

If eight people are flying across the country (unless Neo is correct and they moved the Atlantic this morning) that is at least 2,400 bucks and now you are concerned with saving an additional 20 bucks and losing time that you can spend seeing the city.

Unless they are coming down from Canada, I suppose.

You are correct. One should not post after one's bedtime.

Carry on....

One other possibility is that you can go about 25 blocks in a taxicab for about $10 including tip. Since you can get 4 people in most cabs, the cost is about the same as 4 subway tickets.

Like my driver's license, my medicare card is always in my wallet!

Thank you so much for all your comments. I now have got a better understanding how the system works (or, not works). Some posts from New Yorkers made me really smile.

That the reduced fare is not intended for tourists clarifies a lot.

We are from Europe, and Aduchamp is of course right: We do not want to spend precious time with looking for discounts. It is a great relief for me to learn that vending machines accept credit cards. Smetz's post was also helpful. I was not aware that we can get with 4 people in one cab and that the fare is so low. A good alternative indeed.

Again, thank you all. And sorry for posting before bedtime (but when I post in the European morning, I usually get little response here).

"We are from Europe. . ."

So the thought that you meant TransAtlantic flight rather than transcontinental flight was indeed correct?

You are correct Neo. You are entitled to one continental or transatlantic breakfast.

hmmm. I was thinking more along the lines of a free flight!

Just want to add, it's not that the reduced fare is not intended for tourists. It's that in order to get the reduced fare on a metrocard, it requires a photo and some time invested. If you want to go and have photos taken and apply by mail, I think you certainly can. Just doesn't seem worth the trouble for a 3 day stay. If you ride on a NYC transit bus which will take coins (no dollar bills) you CAN get the reduced fare of $1.10.

You will find few cab rides that will be that cheap and if they are, it is often within an area that you could have walk faster.

That having been said, if you are heading in a direction that buses and subways don't go or if you are all dressed up for some unknown reason, taxis are certainly a viable option.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/passenger_info.shtml

Aaargh! It is one of those mistakes you make when you have to express yourself in a foreign language. It should have been "intercontinental" or, even more precise, "transatlantic". Mea culpa. Have mercy with visitors from good old Europe.

Even for non-NYers, a Medicare card at a subway booth will get a senior a senior fare. As this card will for bus travel. Though if there's some grey up-top, you don't have to show ID on the bus.

A friend living in NJ, just presented his Medicare card at booth and was provided a Senior Metrocard that he can add funds to whenever (no photo required), just as a NYer.

And, there is no restriction to hours when a Senior Metrocard can be used... there are still many seniors who work full-time; they're not all retired.

As both the subway and bus systems take the Metrocard (not tickets), if traveling by bus you can use coins (no paper notes accepted) and pay $1.10 for Seniors.

Personally, I've never used a machine to purchase Metrocard, just use the booth agent, which thankfully every station I use had a real person!

Regarding what Sandi said:
Many more locations, sadly, have no booth agent these days. And if they do find one attended, keep in mind that they only accept cash. You have to use a machine if you want to use a credit card. Machines also take cash and give change but only up to $6 per purchase I think. You can't put in a $50 bill for a $10 card , for example. and the "token" booth clerks also won't take large bills. Of course!

Sandi, since there are no tokens anymore(they used to give you a token plus a ticket good for another fare for the price of one token), and the only way to code half price fares is to put in on a special [photo] Senior metrocard, how did your friend get one? Was this recently?


Bus drivers use their discretion to allow a senior with or without ID to pay only $1.10 instead of the regular $2.25 fare, but I've never seen them turn anyone down.

Also, someone mentioned that if you wanted to buy 3 one-day passes, you'd have to go back to the subway fare machine each day. This is not the case, as you can buy as many cards as you want (one at a time) and then hold on to them unused until the expiration date printed on it (usually about a year). So you could buy 3 passes each at the beginning of your trip and then use one each day.
One warning about this: If you try to use the same credit card several times in a row, it will block the sale thinking that someone has stolen a card and is just buying up Metrocards! They do not make it easy for a legitimate purchase!


No simple answers to your original question. Just try to estimate how many times per day you might use public transportation. Keep in mind your groups tolerance for long or short walks in all sorts of weather. Once you've done that, we can make some educated guesses as to what might work best for you

And just one more word of advice to tourists - whatever you do - do not venture to 3 Stone Street to obtain a senior Metro card. It is equivalent to a visit to the Motor Vehicle Bureau - unless you consider a wrestling match with city bureaucracy a fun thing to do while you're in town and you have lots of time on your hands and don't mind passing a good piece of the day to save those couple of bucks.

jroth, funny you mention that. When I took my partner there to get his senior card, I think we were there maybe 10 minutes total and I remarked it was the most organized government office I'd ever been it -- and the very polite people (except the woman asking me why I wasn't getting one too -- duh I was about 6 years too young.

I received an email today from MTA stating the Seniors Metrocard is available for any Senior over 65 and asking me to complete an application even though I am not from the States.This is mailed to a Brooklyn address and takes 6-8 weeks to process and the card is then mailed to you.Alternatively you can apply in person to a Stone Street address in which case you need a photo and valid proof of age OR a Medicare card. It seems to me that unless you are staying for some time it doesn't appear worth the trouble.

NeoP - Yes - if you are a permanent resident it's worth the visit to 3 Stone St. since you will be using that Metro card on a permanent basis. But for the short term visitor - to journey down to Stone St. (if you know where that tiny street is) and then do some bureacracy wrestling - well - there are better thngs to do for the tourist/visitor. My visit there was required since I had to provide them with new credit card information and could not get that done on the phone (at least a one hour or more phone wait each time I tried). I've had better fun days.

I got mine through the mail, and am not a local.
It's good for four years, and is automatically renewed.

nyer - My friend had just returned to the NY area from CA, and simply went to his local subway station and got his Senior MetroCard there. Seemed strange to me, as others have indicated one has to, either, mail into or present one's self at Stone Street.

There is a difference between the senior identity card you get at Stone Street and a Senior Metrocard. You use and need the identity card to purchase the discounted Metrocard which you can buy anywhere. Perhaps, sandi, your friend still had the senior identity card? In theory, I believe you are supposed to have both cards on you when you ride buses or subway.

The photo ID _is_ the Metrocard.
You put money on it like a regular Metrocard.
If you do not have the Reduced Fare Metrocard
with photo, you can go to a station booth
with age identification or Medicare card and
purchase a single regular pay-per-ride $2.25
Metrocard and you will receive a white paper
ticket that is considered a 'return' ticket,
thereby offering the 50% discount. You have to
find a manned booth, cash only, small bills.
With the photo ID it's a one-time application
process, is renewed automatically, you can pay
by credit card or debit card on the machines,
purchase an unlimited pass, and use the ID on
every future trip to the city.
Also the only rush hour time restrictions on the
Reduced Fare Metrocard have to do with express
buses, LIRR, and Metro-North. There are NO rush
hour time restrictions for the card on the subway
or regular buses.

Wow. So confusing. Maybe things have changed or we're just talking about two different things. In June of 2008, we went to Stone Street with a passport type picture and ID and got Lee a senior transit identity card which had his picture right on it. This card could NOT be used to swipe through a turnstile to admit you to the subway. WE used it to then BUY a one month unlimited ride senior Metro Card which was half the price of a regular one. That card looked exactly like any other metro card. That was what was swiped to go through the turnstile and the ID card never ever got used again. I understood that if we went back and bought another senior metro card we'd have to show that to get it. Or perhaps you can just enter reduced fare in the machine and buy one -- but then you are supposed to have the ID card with you whenever you use it. I do know that we were warned you ALWAYS have to have that ID with you whenever you are using any reduced "fare" card or "ticket" if you want to call it that.

Maybe it's just semantics, but I'd call a Metro Card the thing you actually swipe through the turnstile to let you through, and the Senior ID card does NOT do that, so I don't get the statement "The photo ID _is_ the Metrocard." And I'm also 99% sure you can't get a month long reduced fare Metro Card without that photo ID card.

The only thing I'm 99% sure of is that the original poster, who is from Europe, will not have a medicare card in his wallet, even his flight is transcontinental.

It must be different now.
I received a card with a photo, a magnetic strip,
a small hole near the magnetic strip, and a
cut-off corner. The letter it is attached to says
"Before you can use your new card you'll need to
put money on IT".

The MTA site says "MTA Reduced-Fare MetroCard is
personalized with A NAME and photograph and works
the same as a regular MetroCard."

OK. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that in almost two years, the entire system has changed.

Looks like they have really simplified this (finally!). You no longer have to show up at the office, you can do everything by mail, you need proof of age but that means a copy of driver license or almost any type of ID with photo and birthday on it (NOT just a Medicare card). And as already mentioned by GoodVoyage rush hour time restrictions on the
Reduced Fare MetroCard have to do with express
buses, LIRR, and Metro-North. There are NO rush
hour time restrictions for the card on the subway
or regular buses. In addition the reduced-fare card is NOT an elite card for locals, so for the price of postage and a 2x2 photo you can apply for and recieve the card, swipe it as a regular MetroCard on subways and buses and save some money.

Apply here: http://www.mta.info/nyct/fare/rfapply.htm

We arrived back from NY last week and used the subway and found it quite easy considering I get confused on our local Metro. I am a senior but my friend isnt so just paid the full amount. As we intended walking mostly we only got the 3 day pass to use to go to the furthest attractions. I swiped the card and handed it to my friend to use. I had also looked at the site before leaving home but as things take a while to sink in we waited until we got there.
If we sussed it I am sure you will,Good luck.

With no disrespect intended, why should a senior citizen feel entitled to a public transportation discount? Shouldn't children, students, the poor, handicapped and probably others be entitled to one too? Your body occupies the same space as mine does, so why should I pay full fare for being employed and between 18 and 65 and subsidize your ride? I will give you my seat, however, because my mother taught me to be polite!

With no disrespect intended, why should a senior citizen feel entitled to a public transportation discount? Shouldn't children, students, the poor, handicapped and probably others be entitled to one too?
_________________
They all, except the poor, have some sorts of discounts or free passes, although with the budget crunch, they are talking about eliminating the student discount. It is for NYC school kids only.

Many seniors have fixed incomes and it also a way to thank seniors for working for the past 40 years or more and contributing to society.

As opposed to MARTA in Atlanta, the NYC subway is egalitarian where people from almost all economic strata can be found.

You can do it! If you have 2 or 3 weeks you can do the whole process by mail but you do need to send passport type photos. Google NYMTA and keep looking for senior or discounted fares. They are perfectly willing to give the passes to seniors. I went in person to the office on South Street, way down by the Battery. It took about 2 hours what with waiting in line, but it is free. You get a card wiuth your picture on it and then you go to a station that has a human being and you give them the amont of money you want on the card and they enter it. Then you use it for subways and busses. For busses, you can also just pay the senior fare if you show your medicare card. It's really a good system, you just have to know where to start. They also do have mobile vans that go to different neighborhoods where you can get the passes--the schedule is on the web-site, but if the times and places don't coordinate with your plans, it's better to just go to south Street. There's plenty of sightseeing to do down there at the tip of Manhattan anyway! Good luck--don't be intimidated!

Whoops. The downtown office for the MTA is on Stone St. not South St. It's still way downtown by the Battery.

I have a Medicare Card, also a supplemental insurance card because I'm covered out of the country if I'm ill or have an accident. It's comforting, mainly, as I've never had to use them, but I've taken them along to all continents.

Foreign credit cards may not work with the MTA vending machines. Here's a tip: if the machine asks for a zip code (postal code) to verify the credit card, foreigners should type "99999" to satisfy the five-digit zip code requirement.

This and other helpful info can be found at:
http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mvms/index.htm


I wasn't aware of the "99999" trick when a man speaking with a British accent told me he was having problems using his VISA card at the MTA machine in LaGuardia Airport. Because the machine didn't take cash (the smaller/older MTA vending machines accept only credit/debit cards), he gave me $20 and I bought a Metrocard for him with my credit card. This was in Nov 2009.

I'd never heard that 99999 trick either. I stood helpless when a foreigner was having trouble at a gas station here for the same problem. Great to know that. Does it usually work in most US machines?

Since what I found is generally related to the topic; I found a free application for Pocket PC cell phones that gives you subway directions to over 300 of the subway systems in the world. For my upcoming trip to NY I downloaded the NY subway part. Enter where you are and where you want to be and it will tell you how to get there on the subway. It looks pretty useful!
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-metro-v5-7-0.html

This is the funniest post I've read in a while

"I am sorry to ask such a dumb question, but MTA's website is more confusing than helpful."

oh really?! Try the LA bus&subway system. They got a few bus companies that dont transfer for free, we in NYC got just 1 that accepts the SAME metro cards!

"We will spend three days in NYC with a party of 8 people, including 4 seniors. How do we get subway tickets?"

After 3 days, you'll be leaving with 6, at most 7.
Tickets for the subway are available, as are bus, broadway shows tickets, topless review shows, restaurant reservations, divorce court, parking violations payments, and most everything New Yorkers do, at the TKTS counter on Broadway.

"How do we get the tickets? Are there machines or ticket booths?"

Yes, but the machines tend to curse at out of towners. Toll booth tellers dont speak English... in fact no one in NYC does.

"How can we pay? Do the machines accept bills or credit cards?"

You dont. Just do what every New Yorker does, jump over the turnstiles. DO NOT use credit cards in those vending machines, you might get chicken low mein w/fried rice instead of a ticket.

"Do they give change?"

No, this is NYC, no change for tourists.

"at the Walk-In Service Center on 3 Stone Street with a birth certificate."

You do have one, dont you? How would you prove you are a native born American in case you run for president
Oh wait, I hear Hawaii issues a certificate of live birth to those born in foreign countries.

"Is this really true? Are tourists exepected to go to this center, get photographed etc. just to buy a Metro Card?"

You as well get fingerprinted, analy probed, get an eye exam, blood pressure checked, and finally your toes are tickled by a sadistic clown.

"website says, this fun pass is not sold at ticket booths,"

cuz this pass wont guarantee much fun... for that you'd have to go to Coney Island, W22st. Behold the amazing feats of sharp shootin' as the gang bangers shoot it out all night long for crack sellin' turf.

"Again, what kind of money do those machines accept?"

Pesos, Euros, monopoly, pounds, franks, rubles, anything but American dollars.

"Sorry that I ask these silly questions. But it really looks complicated"

Dont worry. Just pack heat with extra bullets and you'll be alright on the streets of the Big Apple.

This is a good time of year to go to Stone Street since the street is closed and you can eat lunch at the many tables from various restaurants. N.B. Where you sit is what you eat.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=stone+street+nyc+restaurants&aq=3&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=Stone+Street&gs_rfai=

I saw some good, detailed information on transportation around New York City. I saw it on nyc-visitor-discounts.com. It also had some great ideas of saving money, discounts, and cheap ideas for doing things in nyc.

NeoPatrick, no way for me to confirm whether "99999" would work in most US machines but there is a certain logic to it. So I daresay it would work at other US machines.

If anyone can confirm this, do let us know.

According to a source I found, the greatest numerical zip code in use in the U.S. is 99950--Ketchikan, Alaska. Only 12 numbers are in use greater than 99900. 99999 is not a real code for anyplace in the U.S.

That's why 99999 would make a great code to indicate the credit card is foreign-issued and satisfy the machine's zip code requirement.