Unlimited card still best buy

By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer and amNY.com
More stories | MNaanes@am-ny.com

December 11, 2007

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Unless you're using your MetroCard strictly to get to and from work, the best bargain under the proposed fare hike announced Monday is still the 30-day unlimited card.

The MTA proposed raising the price of 30-day cards up to $81, seven-day cards up a buck to $25, while adding a new 14-day card that costs $47. The good news is base fares and express bus fares will stay put.

But the question now is what card is best for you?

The 30-day pass, up is $6, is still the most cost-effective option if you use it more than 47 times a month The new 14-day pass is a better deal than buying two seven-day passes, resulting in a $3 savings.

The bonus card -- even under the reduced discount -- is still ideal for who just commute for a five-day workweek.

"If you're going to go ride everyday with no weeks off you're better off with a monthly pass," said Bill Henderson, director of advocacy group Commuter Riders Council. "If all you did was ride to and from work you were always losing some money and you still do."

The bonus on pay-per-ride cards are down to 15 percent from 20 percent, but the extra rides now come with a minimum buy of $7 rather than $10. It's still good deal for those who just go to work and back, as commuters can actually get 40 rides for $70.

But the 15 percent bonus creates a mathematical quandary that could leave you with odd amounts on your card. Because of the percentage, straphangers can pay $7 and receive a card for $8.05.

You can add money to the card, but straphangers want to get into and out of the system as quickly as possible, Henderson said.

"A lot of people are not going to be willing to put a $1.95 into the machine to get the last ride," he said. "It makes people think a little bit more about what are they going to get out of their ride."

But some people can't calculate savings into any fare increase. Many lower-income straphangers buy a weekly pass because that's all they can cobble together at once, Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said. Under the new hike proposal they're getting the worst deal.

"Sometimes when I don't even have the money for the weekly pass, I buy the $10 card," said Melinda Joseph, a 22-year-old who studies and works at a midtown Dunkin' Donuts. "Now I might get my boyfriend to drive me to school."

The MTA will vote on the hike on Dec. 19. The hikes will take affect by early March.