MetroCard’s successor could transform New York City transit
By Vincent Barone
vin.barone@amny.com May 25, 2016
The MTA launched a request for ideas forMTA seeking ideas for MetroCard replacement.
The turnstile tango is coming to an end.
You know the moves:
first you fish for the MetroCard in your purse, wallet or pocket.
Then you flip the card for proper swipe orientation (a manageable step, sure, but one that can easily stump stumpers like Hillary Clinton and visitors to this city, alike).
On a good day, that step will be punctuated with just one “please swipe again.”
That daily dance undertaken by millions is one of the reasons why the MTA is pursuing a new payment system.
The MetroCard, at 22 years old, has aged poorly compared to the rate of technological advancements in its lifetime. The MTA is essentially managing its own currency and that’s becoming increasingly expensive to maintain. It costs the agency about 15 cents to collect every dollar in revenue.
“The MetroCard doesn’t take advantage of the efficiencies of technology that have been introduced in the past 20 years,” said John Raskin, executive director of the Riders Alliance. “If we don’t replace it now, expect a lot more system failures and breakdowns in the coming years.”
The MTA hopes to begin a slow phase out of MetroCards in 2018, at a cost of $619 million, after a slew of mobile payment pilots and delays over the past ten years. It’s proven challenging for the MTA to pin its next fare system on technology that’s evolving so rapidly.
Certain details are clear.
A new, open fare technology will be harnessed in riders’ smartphones, credit cards and pre-paid cards — similar to London’s Oyster card or PATH’s SmartLink.
Dips and swipes will be swapped for taps and scans. If properly executed, transit experts say the new technology can transform how New Yorkers traverse their city, as did the MetroCard when it replaced the MTA’s iconic tokens.
“Options like free transfers [and] unlimited fares were made possible by the MetroCard. That was huge,” said Rich Barone, vice president for transportation at the Regional Plan Association. “It’s going to be the technology, but really the fare policy that comes with the new technology, that could totally transform transit in New York City.”
For the MTA, a key to an open fare payment system is meeting customers where they already are—their phones—and building an inclusive system that will work across all services, like the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. Don’t expect drastic changes to turnstiles, yet. The MTA plans to begin the rollout by retrofitting its current infrastructure.
The switch over itself, advocates predict, could bring tangible service improvements, especially on buses.
more:
http://www.amny.com/transit/metrocar...sit-1.11837974