Transit System Prepares For Full Electronic Fare Card Use

New York City's transit system is moving toward automated fare collection as the city equips all subway stations to accept fare cards by July 1.

The plastic card, called MetroCard, can hold up to $80 worth of fares. Travelers can buy them at the stations, at several retail outlets and more than a dozen hotels.

Each time the card is swiped through a turnstile-or on a city bus, all of which already accept MetroCard-$1.50 is electronically subtracted from the card's value. When the value is used up, the cards can be reloaded at the token booths.

The New York City Transit Authority wants MetroCard to replace tokens within the next two years. Until then, travelers still can use tokens on the subway, and tokens or coins on the city buses.

Also on July 1, the Transit Authority will give MetroCard users a free transfer between subways and buses, as long as the interval between moves is less than two hours. This is a major boon to residents as well as visitors because the subway system is much more effective for north-south trips than east-west.

And, as of January 1998, the city will give MetroCard buyers 11 trips for the price of 10. "That convenience, plus free intermodal transfers, and a safer and generally more appealing system, should really appeal to all," said Jack Lusk, senior vice president for customer services.

Lusk said that the fare card, coupled with a 70 percent drop in subway crime during the past five years and a rehaul of the entire subway system, has made taking the train more sensible than ever. Nearly three-quarters of the system's 468 stations serving 722 miles of track have been renovated. The improvements are vital, Lusk said, "since what we're fighting is now more a perception of crime than its reality."

Along with the massive rewiring needed to handle MetroCard, the TA has relit and retiled several stations, installed more audible public address systems and improved signage. A number of stations eventually will have electronic information ribbons-similar to those in the Paris and London subways-that tell passengers how long it will be until the next train's arrival.

The subway system covers long trips in a short time and at low cost, particularly during the heart of the business day, Lusk said. "At midday, it takes around 10 minutes to go from Grand Central Station to Wall Street on the Lexington Avenue express," he said. "Do that by taxicab and it's likely to cost you nearly $20, plus a half hour of your valuable time.