Please allow me at least one straightforwardly geeky entry. I was just amazed at how smart and sneaky the NY MTA was. For months now, we’ve heard about the MTA raising subway and bus fares for those who buy unlimited passes (daily, weekly and monthly). There was some resistance from the public, naturally. But it was, I suppose, generally accepted as inevitable since the fare hikes weren’t really outrageous anyway. There was no objection from those who buy pay-per-ride subway passes, in particular, since the rides will remain at $2 a pop. Oh, but that’s where the MTA was particularly crafty.
In the past, for a purchase of a minimum of $10 worth of subway rides, one gets 20 percent free (i.e., for $10 which is 5 rides, you get a free ride). These pay-per-ride cards came in $4, $10, and $20 denominations. With the changes, we are surprised to find that they now came in $7 and $15 denominations. This was hardly the surprise, however. Now, for the $7 Metrocard, you get only half a ride free. That is, the $7 card comes with $1.05 free, which is less than 20 percent. What I find so smart about this move is that to the eyes of the regular Joe, there was no fare hike—it remained $2 per ride. So, no objections. But to those who used to buy the $10 card, for instance, it would not be hard to discover that they’re now getting less in terms of free rides. And we thought we wouldn’t be affected. Sneaky, really sneaky.
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