NYC Transit Pass or Smart Card?
 

I a m SURE that this topic has been covered ad nauseum here but I only frequent the Europe forum so I will ask on behalf of some Chinese friends heading for NYC about the Smart Card for the subway and buses - they are a party of 4 - 18, 29 and tw adults - can they buy just one Smart Card - is that the4 best way to go figuring they will be there about 4 days and take multiple rides -is it like London's Oyster Card - you get refunded what you do not spend? Does the card cost anything, etc.

Anyway the best plan to get around the cheapest - thank you!

We do not have Smart Cards here. Our Metrocard system is not anything like the Oyster Card in London, so there's no advantage in sharing, though it's possible. To be honest, though, I don't know how many people can share. The Metrocard itself is free. You get no refund on what you have not spent, so it's important to load the card only with the amount you intend to spend.

Depending on how much they plan to use the bus & subway system, it may be a wash between PAYG metrocard and the 7-day unlimited.

The 7-day unlimited is $29. You said they're visiting for 4 days, so it comes out to $7.25/day. If they think they'll be taking 4 or more rides each day (not counting free transfers they can get with PAYG), it'll be easier for them to each get a 7-day unlimited.

The benefit of the 7-day is that
1) each person gets one and they don't need/have to share
2) You pay all $ upfront so no need to look for a subway station to top up throughout their stay
3) No need to concern themselves about unused value on the PAYG at the end of their trip

However, if they don't think they'll ride that much, then just get PAYG. I know at least 2 people can share one metrocard; but not sure what's the max # of people can do that.

Four people can share a pay-as-you-go MetroCard—called "Regular MetroCard" on the machines as opposed to "Unlimited MetroCard". The card tracks free transfers for all four users. (Unlimited Cards cannot be scanned more frequently than about 15 minutes apart to prevent illegal sharing.)

The disadvantage of sharing one card is that they can't ever travel separately or transfer to different locations. That would be a huge inconvenience, in my opinion.
You can buy 4 "pay per ride" cards (as they are officially called on the MTA website and on the card vending machines) so each person has his/her own. There's a small bonus amount added to any purchase over $10. I see no real advantage to sharing cards unless you're traveling with children who might lose them, or use them improperly and waste fares.

I'm a born and bread New Yorker and I never heard of "PAYG".

I use a regular MetroCard. You can put any amount on it in 10-20-50 dollar amounts. They can all use the same card, but as nyer said, they couldn't travel to different places if they're using just one card.

They could, however each get a card and put, for example $20 on each and just put more $$ on if and when they need to. Transfers are free (subway to bus, and vice versa, bus to bus) within a 2 hour period.

How much they put on it depends on how much they're going to have to use it. They need to at least make an attempt to figure that out.

BTW - Even though on the subway maps the different subway lines are in different colors, do not ask for help by asking someone about, for example "the red line". No one, except for another tourist, will know what you're talking about. Mention the <u>name/u> of the particular line: "F", "1" or "R", for example.

I use "PAYG" above because PalQ is a regular poster on the Europe Board and is familiar with London's Oyster Card. The Oyster Card has a PAYG option which is similar to MTA's "pay-per-ride" regular metrocard. I figured if I say PAYG, PalQ will understand the idea behind it and can explain that to his friends.

PalQ, here's the MTA website that explains the various fare option for Metrocard:
http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm

BTW, If you want to do the math, take a look at this site
http://www.metrocardbonuscalculator.com

The calculator let's you know exactly how many rides you get counting the odd bonus amounts. You can buy cards or add money in 5 cent increments (but there is a minimum, maybe a dollar or so. I know because I once tried to add 10 cents to a card with just short of a single fare left, and it wouldn't work)

It calculates that for less than the cost of each weekly card at $29, you could get 13 rides at the pay-per-ride prices. If you figure that you will use much less than that number of rides (especially because it is only for 4 days), unlimited may not be the way to go. If it's close, the unlimiteds do give you the freedom to hop on a bus for 5 blocks if it's hot/cold/rainy or you're just too tired

Is there a senior discount when purchasing these cards ? If so, how old do you have to be

60 or 65 or what ? If you don't buy a card, is there a senior discount when just purchasing

one way tickets on the subway ? Thanks

Sorry for the strange spacing ... don't know what happened.

deedeedee, senior rates start at age 65. Here are more details
on getting the discount without the special reduced fare Metrocard

"How to pay with cash;
When you pay with cash, you must present an acceptable form of identification (ID). Show your ID to a subway Station Agent or Bus Operator. Accepted forms of ID are: a NYC Department of Aging ID card, Medicare card (Medicaid not accepted), Access-A-Ride ID card, MTA Reduced-Fare ID card (pre-1995).

Follow these instructions for riding the subway or bus:

In the Subway: Show your ID to a Station Agent to purchase a one-trip ($2.25) MetroCard for entrance into the subway system. You will also receive a free, return-trip ticket to submit as payment of fare on your return trip. Your return trip ticket is good for 90 days from the date of issue for a return trip on the subway or a local (not express) bus. On your return trip, the Station Agent will activate the special entry gate so you can enter the subway system or the Bus Operator will allow you to board the bus.

On the Bus: Show your ID to the Bus Operator and pay $1.10 in coins, exact change; no pennies or dollar bills accepted. You can request a transfer from the Bus Operator. The transfer is valid for two hours, and can be used to transfer to another local (not express) bus; the transfer cannot be used in the subway"

http://www.mta.info/nyct/fare/rfindex.htm

Thank you ... nyer

I have to disagree with yk and say DON"T buy the 7 day $29 unlimited MetroCard.

For that card to be worth the money it has to be used a minimum of 13 times before you break even (13 x $2.25 [the individual fare] = $29.25). I really doubt that that many uses would be made in 4 days. Remember only 1 person can use an unlimited card. It cannot be shared.

PAYG???? - In NYC we say Pay-Per-Ride or PPR MetroCard. This is the regular version of the MetroCard. By the way - the form of the card is exactly the same whether it is a PPR or unlimited.

The PPR card can handle payment of up to 4 fares in the same subway station or on a bus (regardless of how much money you put on it). After that it "locks out" for 18 minutes. When the fare is paid with the PPR you get a free transfer from the subway to a bus or a bus to the subway or a bus to a bus (depending on when the initial fare was paid) within 2 hours of the payment of the fare.

The PPR card (and the unlimitd as well) can be purchased at any attended booth (cash only - minimum purchase $4.50) in the subway or from one of the various MetroCard Vending Machines (MVM) in the subway (cash/credit/debit). Pleas note that if using cash in a MVM the maximum amount of change that the machine will give is $6.00. If you use a credit or debit card in the MVM, there is a strict limit of 2 transactions per day. Don't try going to another MVM if you want to go beyond 2 transactions because the system keeps track of the transactions. ALSO (and this is important) when using a credit/debit in the MVM, the machine may ask for a Zip Code (this the 5 + digit postal code in the U.S.) after you slide in the card. This is done for security/verification purposes. I am assuming they are coming from overseas and using a card issued there they will have to enter 99999 on the keypad and then press enter. This tells the system that the credit/debit card is not one issued in the U.S.

The pay-per-ride card is refillable and any whole amount from 5 cents and up can be added to an existing card at a booth or MVM.

Fare options on the Pay-per-ride card:

$4.50 or more can be used to buy a new card. If an amount of $10.00 or more is placed on the card, a bonus of 7% will automatically be added.

Examples:
- $10.00 + 7% gives a card with a value of $10.70. Since the fare is $2.25 and that is what the turnstile would deduct on each use, there would be $1.70 left over. 55 cents in cash can be added in a separate transaction to bring the balance to a full fare of $2.25.
- $20.00 placed on the card will get $1.40 in bonus value or a total of $21.40. $1.10 (in cash only) can be added in the MVM or booth to bring the overall total to $22.50 which is equal to 10 full fares.

The bonus when added effectively brings the cost of each trip to $2.10 even though $2.25 will be deducted in the turnstile or fare box.

As to whether your friends buy 1 MetroCard to use for all 4 of them or a couple of cards - that is up to them.