By Sam Schwartz
Dear Transit Sam,
Why doesn’t the M.T.A. do with MetroCard what they do with E-ZPass at the bridges and tunnels so that you don’t have to keep refilling your card? Why can’t they just have it linked to your credit card?
Joe P., Amex Building, Battery Park City
Dear Joe,
Have I got good news for you! The M.T.A. can actually electronically reload your MetroCard exactly like E-ZPass. Here’s how it works: There are two plans you can sign up for, either the 30-day unlimited or pay-per-ride. An EasyPayXpress unlimited account is opened after the first $81 and after every 30-day period, your credit card is billed and another 30-day cycle begins. The pay-per-ride type account is opened after a $40 deposit (worth $46 because of the 15% bonus) and is replenished with another $40 if your balance goes below $30. One kink, you can’t use the unlimited for express bus service. You’ll have to obtain the pay-per-ride card to do so.
Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
Two weeks ago, you said work was starting at the Holland Tunnel. I live right near it. How is it going to affect Manhattan streets and avenues?
John, Greenwich St.
Dear John,
The New Jersey-bound tube of the Holland Tunnel is slated to close 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday and Sundays beginning this weekend, but only if the weather cooperates (and it looks like it will). In addition, the N.J. approaches to the Holland Tunnel will be closed as well. While this phase won’t have a big impact on Lower Manhattan streets (Midtown will see more traffic as drivers switch to the Lincoln), the next phase, to begin in a few months, will affect Downtown. I’ll have more on this in a future column.
Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
I got a ticket for standing in a “No Standing” zone last Sunday — but wasn’t actually “standing.” I had pulled over to the curb to drop off my husband, and was then boxed in by two traffic agents who pulled their car up in front of mine to prevent me from pulling away. They refused to listen to my explanation that I was discharging a passenger and wrote me a ticket. My question: Is the explanation described above a winning defense? Is there another possible basis for contesting such a summons?
Justine, Battery Park City
Dear Justine,
You did nothing wrong since you’re allowed to pick up and discharge passengers expeditiously in “No Standing” zones. You should plead not guilty and include a notarized statement from your husband attesting to the facts. It’s a 50-50 shot with a judge, but in all likelihood, you will be offered a reduced fine right away. If the agents did not ask you for ID, as they should have, since you were present behind the wheel, they were in violation of N.Y. State Law Section 238.2, which requires “personal service.” You can plead that too.
Transit Sam
Sam Schwartz, a former first deputy commissioner of city transportation, is president and C.E.O. of Sam Schwartz Engineering, a traffic engineering consulting firm to private and public entities including the Port Authority at the World Trade Center site. Email your questions to TransitSam@DowntownExpress.com.
