I figured out something that happens a lot to people who don't live in New York. We all go to this big shiny city but what we totally forget is that we aren't driving like we would in usually so we have to rely on public transportation. Let me tell you this New York's subway is so confusing it kills. But buying the metro card was the hardest experience because I wasn't sure if it was worth it. So let’s breakdown the differences between the different MetroCards.
Unlimited Cards
- costs $31 for a 7 day pass and provides great savings
- for 13 trips = $2.38/ride
- for 20 trips = $1.55/ride
- for 25 trips = $1.24/ride
- can only be used by 1 person
- must wait 18 minutes before using again
- unlimited transfers
Pay-Per-Ride
- costs $2.75/ride when you purchase multiple rides, otherwise it costs $3 per ride.
- 11% bonus for every $5.50 purchased. So, a $5.50 purchase gives you $6.10.
- free subway-bus and bus-bus transfers within 2 hours. Subway to subway transfers included within the system.
- up to 4 people can use one MetroCard.
For both types of cards, there is a $1 charge to obtain your MetroCard. If you are buying a pay-per-ride MetroCard, be sure to keep the card and add money to it when it is running low, because you don’t want to have to buy another card and pay $1 again just for a card trust me I learned the hard way. The main question you need to ask is whether you think you will use the at least 12 times. If so, then the unlimited card will likely save you money. From all the times I have used the subway which is few I feel the unlimited card is the best one to use.
