Please dip your credit card. Please dip your credit card. Welcome to Urban Caffeine. My name is Thea and in this video we are going
to talk about a piece of plastic that is in most New Yorker's wallet, the MetroCard. We are going to talk about what exactly
you can pay for with the MetroCard and all the options you have in terms of fare. Then we are going to talk about how transfers
work when it comes to paying with a MetroCard we are also going to go in detail how to purchase
and reload a MetroCard If you are a foreigner with a foreign credit
card or debit card I highly recommend not skipping part 4. Or at the very least if there's anything you
should watch from the video it's part 4. And at the very end I want to talk about how
this video might be irrelevant by 2023 because the whole payment system for the public transit
in New York is changing. Without further ado let's get started. This piece of plastic is commonly known to
be used for the New York City subway but the MetroCard is much more than that. Note that this is an MTA MetroCard. In a previous video I noted that the New York
subway is owned by New York City, leased to the New York City Transit that is part of
the Metropolitan Transit Authority and operated by New York State. The MTA operates other public transportation
systems as well. Because of this some of these transportation
systems accept the MetroCard as the method of payment. You can use your MetroCard to pay for the
New York City subway available through the five boroughs of Manhattan as well as the
New York City local and express buses, the airtrain at JFK airport that loops around
the airport and connects to the NYC Subway, the Roosevelt Island Tram which is a tram
that travels back and forth from Manhattan Island to Roosevelt Island, The Path which
is a line that goes into New Jersey, the Nassau Inter-County Express Bus which is a system
that extends outside of New York City to the east, and the Westchester Bee-Line buses which
is a system that extends outside of New York City to the north. So whatever cash value add to your MetroCard
you can use it towards any of these transportation systems but the same MetroCard can hold both
cash value and unlimited rides that can be used for the subway, local buses, the Roosevelt
Island Tram, and the Bee-Line buses minus their Manhattan express route. Unlimited rides for the express buses and
the Airtrain are available but these need to be on their own separate MetroCard. The Path also has unlimited options too, but
you would have to get a completely different card for that. This because The Path has a different operator
but they do have an understanding with the MTA so riders who are just going to ride The
Path on a single ride can use the MetroCard. If you have both cash value and unlimited
rides on your MetroCard the machines will read the unlimited rides first then the cash
value second. If your limited rides expire, the machine
will charge from your cash balance. If the unlimited rides don't apply to the
transit system when you use a MetroCard, like say The Path, it will charge from your cash
balance. Each of these transportation lines have different
fare prices. For one-way rides, the New York City subway,
local buses, the tram, The Path, the Nassau bus and the Bee-Line minus the express route
to Manhattan, all cost $2.75. The NYC express bus has caused $6.75 for a
single ride and the AirTrain cost $7.75. There are discounts worth looking up like
senior, student, and disability discounts which I'm not covering here but information
is available on the MTA website. Unlike other cities New York does not have
zones so you can take a ride from the Upper West Side of Manhattan all the way to the
beaches of the most southern part of Queens effectively covering 30 miles all for $2.75. When you buy an unlimited ride for the subway
this extends to other transportation systems. A 7-day unlimited pass is $33. A month-long unlimited pass is $127. $33 is equivalent to 12 single rides so if
you take the subway or bus more than 12 times in a 7-day period, then buying the 7-day unlimited
is recommended. For tourists visiting more than two days and
are planning to make use of public transportation it is recommended to get the 7-Day unlimited
MetroCard. For the price of $127 you would have to take
more than 46 rides within a 30-day period. But the 30-day unlimited does come with the
advantage of the balance protection program. If you lose your MetroCard that is loaded
with a 30-day unlimited you could simply call up the MTA and report the loss. They can look up the purchase based on the
credit card or debit card that you used and refund you the prorated amount based on how
many days you have left on that card at the time that you lost it. But you can only do this twice a year so still
be careful not to lose your MetroCard. And just because you're living in New York
or maybe you're staying here for the next 30 days doesn't necessarily mean you need
a 30-day unlimited MetroCard. Before everybody started working from home,
I only went to the office 4 days out of the week and that was enough for me to consider
just paying for single rides on some weeks, especially on the weeknights and weekends
I often would take a Lyft or an Uber. Another occasion where a 30-day unlimited
might not be worth it is if you're vacationing outside of New York for a week. That's when it's definitely not worth getting
a card that will last 4 weeks when paying for only 3 weeks can save you about a quarter
of the cost. Lifestyle is different from person to person
but it’s always worth doing the math. Transfers are not really applicable if you
have an unlimited MetroCard but a caveat to that is when you swipe into a station, the
machine takes note of when you swipe because you can't swipe again within 18 minutes of
your last swipe. This is mainly to prevent people from sharing
one unlimited Metrocard. But this is a problem if you enter a station
at the wrong entrance and there's no way for you to exit back and enter on the right entrance. This is something I covered in a previous
video and the link to that video is in the description below. But bottom line is pay attention to the entrance
sign when you're entering the subway so that you are sure that is the entrance that you
want to go into. But if you're paying for single rights as
you go transfer from subway to subway is free because you only swipe once and that's to
get into the subway system. Once you're in the system you can make as
many transfers as you need from train to train. But beyond subway to subway you get one free
transfer from either subway to bus, bus to subway, or bus to bus, as long as you make
your transfer within 2 hours of your initial charge. Just make sure to swipe with the same MetroCard
because the time that card was used has been encoded onto it. The cost of a MetroCard itself is $1 and this
$1 doesn't go towards the fare and is non-refundable. As mentioned earlier you can load it with
a dollar amount and/or an unlimited ride option. If you are loading your card with just a dollar
amount, the minimum initial balance that you can put on it is $5.50 which is the cost of
two rides. You can keep reusing the same MetroCard until
its expiration date that is printed on the back. Now let's get into the actual purchasing this
much talked-about card. These are the machines that you will find
in the New York City subway stations. Not all entrances will have a machine to purchase
a MetroCard but all stations should have a machine. So if the entrance that you went through does
not have a machine you can try another entrance. Maybe it's across the street or kiddie corner
from where you're at. This small machine is for checking the balance
on your card or how much time you have left on your unlimited rides. Simply swipe your card at the top and you'll
see info right here. What you really need to be looking for is
one of these two machines. The small machine is for card purchase only
and the large machines can do both card and cash purchases. But be aware it's not uncommon that these
machines will run out of cash for change or simply not accept bills or coins, like this
one which says no bills accepted. Now let's talk about the user interface. If you have seen my video on how to navigate
the subway system which is linked in the description below you will know that the labeling in stations
is very inconsistent. It goes the same for these MetroCard machines. And that is a true understatement. So for your benefit I recreated the interface
with all the inconsistencies, misalignments, design faux pas, and typographical errors. You're very welcome. So let's get started. So here we go. Like everything else in life, you begin with
the start button. After which you'll get to the language page. Each machine will have English and Spanish
available. Depending on the location of the machine you
are using it will have other languages. New York City speaks over 600 languages and
there are many pockets of dominant languages all throughout the city. For example, if you go to Brighton Beach in
Brooklyn you will find Russian Cyrillic everywhere. And if you go to Flushing Chinatown in Queens
you will see Korean and Chinese plastered all over the place. So if you use a MetroCard machine in Chinatown,
you will have Chinese and Korean available as language options. If there are special notices on the machines,
you will see them on the next page. For example, this notice. “No Bills” means this machine cannot accept
paper cash but it will accept coins. When you continue you will get this main menu. Just don't even bother with the first option. $9 just simply doesn't make sense. Three rides is $8.25 and four rides is $11
so $9 is just a weird amount. Single ride will give you a paper ticket that's
not refillable and is for one time use only. This will cost $3 instead of $2.75. What the majority of you watching will want
this middle option, Metrocard. This is the next screen once you choose MetroCard
and I kid you not this is how the screen looks with the inconsistent box sizes and misalignment. “Refill card” are for those who already
have a MetroCard and need to refill. We’ll get to Refills in a bit. Get Card Info is if you want to know what
the balance is on your MetroCard. To get a brand new MetroCard you select this
button. Then you will have these choices. “Regular MetroCard” means a card with
a dollar amount on it. “Unlimited Ride” is a MetroCard that has
as the label says unlimited rides. When you pick “Regular MetroCard” you
are given quick options. By the way, you can use the same MetroCard for up to four
people this means you can reswipe the same MetroCard up to four times on the same turnstile
to allow up to four people in. This is really great if you're traveling with family.
And if we go back and choose unlimited rides instead we will have these options. We talked
about 7 days and 30 days. The third option is for Express buses which have a different
base rate. We can talk more about Express buses when I eventually make a video on just New
York city buses so stay tuned for that one. After choosing an option we get into the payment
method. You'll see your total due you right here. Since it's a new MetroCard a dollar fee
is added. We knew from the start that this machine temporarily doesn't accept bills but
it does accept coins. Otherwise this will be a cash button. Say we are paying in cash. The
machine can only give back up to $9 in change. As you insert your money into the machine
the amount that you have deposited will appear here. If we decide to pay by card, this is the screen. To dip simply means to insert your card and take it out. Kinda like chips and dip. And to insert means to insert your card and leave it there. Once you dip your card the machine will ask
for the zip code associated with your card For foreigners who have foreign addresses simply
put five 9s. The machines don't tell you this very important piece of information. I once saw a German traveler who couldn't get past
this point of purchase and that's the day I learned that German could be a very colorful
language. So let's say we are refilling your MetroCard. Go through the process again until
you get to the main menu. Press MetroCard then you will get the refill card option. You will
be asked insert your Metrocard. Once you do the machines will tell you what's on your
card—whether it's cash value and/or unlimited time. The option to add value means to add
a dollar amount and to add time means to add unlimited rides. If you pick add time, you get
these options. If you pick add value, you get some quick options or you can add a different amount. The rest of the interface is pretty straightforward from here If I missed anything, please comment down below. And finally I wanted to add this last section because New York
city is in the middle of phasing out of swiping system and moving towards a completely contactless
payment method called One Metro New York or OMNY The goal is pegged for completion by 2023
so you might be seeing a video from me in 2023 on how to pay for the New York subway
and other transportation systems. So subscribe and hit the notification bell for that one. As of now all New York City subway stations and buses have these Tron-like looking readers
and you can use these to pay with your smart device to have NFC capabilities or your credit
card that has the tap and pay capability. Unfortunately, you can only pay for single rides using this
method. If you want a 30-day or 7-day unlimited option you have to use a MetroCard. I hope you found
this video useful. This video is complementary to the video that they keep talking about
in this video about navigating the subway system of New York. The link is in the description below.
If you have thoughts, questions, reactions, please feel free to comment below. If you want to
learn more about urban life and culture, subscribe and hit that notification bell or at the very
least please take a moment to hit the like button. It's so simple but it really does help
out this channel. And channel engagement is what keeps YouTube channels alive and thriving.
With that thank you so much for watching. Until next time happy New York-ing.
