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I'm picking up my parents from a cruise in brooklyn on wednesday and plan to take them over to Manhattan. They wanted to goto canal st (chinatown) in the morning and for lunch and times sq. in the afternoon. I am looking for cheap options.
I plan to drive over the brooklyn bridge and park in chinatown. I found a $16 earlybird special for parking the whole day. The cheapest parking I could find near times sq in the afternoon was around $18 in the fashion district.
I figure it will be easier and cheaper to take the metro from chinatown up to times square. I've only taken the metro a few times and have always bought single-ride tickets
1. Since we are going round trip, is it cheaper if I get a metrocard vs a single ride ticket? $2.25 vs $2.50 each?
2. Is it true that the three of us can share one metro card? I figure that way I can put on $12.62, get the 7% bonus up to $13.50 versus 6 single rides
3. If we can share, do I just swipe the card three times at the turnstile or do I need to pass the card back.
I don't believe you can just put 12.62 on a metro card, they are sold in incriments. I would go for the $20 in the event you want to do something else. And yes you have to pass the card back.
I don't believe you can just put 12.62 on a metro card, they are sold in incriments. I would go for the $20 in the event you want to do something else. And yes you have to pass the card back.
ok thanks. Yeah, I think I read about 5cent increments somewhere. But in general does my plan sound good? I was going off wikipedia which said you could just swipe multiple times but then elsewhere it talked about a 18min delay so I thought I'd check with an expert.
ok thanks. Yeah, I think I read about 5cent increments somewhere. But in general does my plan sound good? I was going off wikipedia which said you could just swipe multiple times but then elsewhere it talked about a 18min delay so I thought I'd check with an expert.
With an unlimited card you have to wait between but if you buy the dollar amount card you could swipe more than once in a row.
I don't consider myself an expert, but I have never noticed options for buying metrocards in amounts other than regular amounts like $10, $20 and $50.
Either buy the $20 card and swipe 3 times (one for each of you) one way and 3 times on the return (and forfeit the remaining balance on the card if you aren't going anywhere else), or buy 6 single rides for $15.
ok thanks. Yeah, I think I read about 5cent increments somewhere. But in general does my plan sound good? I was going off wikipedia which said you could just swipe multiple times but then elsewhere it talked about a 18min delay so I thought I'd check with an expert.
The pay-per-ride metrocard can be shared with up to 4 people. You have to swipe it individually for each person to begin with it. If you use it to transfer (from subway to bus, etc.) then when transferring you only swipe once for everyone. (Note the unlimited metrocard is the one that you have to wait 18 min. between swipes so it is not made for sharing.)
I believe you can add as much money as you want to a metrocard. If you want to buy a non-traditional amount metrocard, I would suggest going to the token clerk booth clerk to make your purchase rather than buying from a machine. (Just remember when buying from the token booth clerk, you can only pay in cash.)
I'm picking up my parents from a cruise in brooklyn on wednesday and plan to take them over to Manhattan. They wanted to goto canal st (chinatown) in the morning and for lunch and times sq. in the afternoon. I am looking for cheap options.
I plan to drive over the brooklyn bridge and park in chinatown. I found a $16 earlybird special for parking the whole day. The cheapest parking I could find near times sq in the afternoon was around $18 in the fashion district.
I figure it will be easier and cheaper to take the metro from chinatown up to times square. I've only taken the metro a few times and have always bought single-ride tickets
1. Since we are going round trip, is it cheaper if I get a metrocard vs a single ride ticket? $2.25 vs $2.50 each?
2. Is it true that the three of us can share one metro card? I figure that way I can put on $12.62, get the 7% bonus up to $13.50 versus 6 single rides
3. If we can share, do I just swipe the card three times at the turnstile or do I need to pass the card back.
4. Does my plan sound good? any suggestions?
Yes, you can buy a $12.62 MetroCard, get the 7% bonus, and swipe yourselves in. You'll have to pass back the MetroCard aftr you pass through the turnstile.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henna
I don't consider myself an expert, but I have never noticed options for buying metrocards in amounts other than regular amounts like $10, $20 and $50.
Either buy the $20 card and swipe 3 times (one for each of you) one way and 3 times on the return (and forfeit the remaining balance on the card if you aren't going anywhere else), or buy 6 single rides for $15.
It isn't an option because it isn't that common for somebody to buy a MetroCard with $12.62 on it, but you are allowed to do so when you do to the token booth clerk (the machines only do it in $0.05 increments, so he would have to spend $12.65, which would be worth it if there is a line at the booth)
Silly Question of the Day: why not contact MTA, which only happens to be the operating agency for the city's subways and buses, for official information about MetroCard? (I guess there was something in my coffee this morning--I couldn't tell you why I think of things like this!)
You can put an odd amount on a MetroCard if you want (I think there is an "Other Amount" option), but I believe you're limited to less than $100 on a pay-per-ride card.
Rather than play "relay race", if one person swipes and lets the other people in your group go through, then enter last, it works more efficiently (having observed this "dance" at the turnstiles many times).
And you only have to swipe once at a transfer, but typically, there is no swiping required when changing trains at an intersecting subway stop. No need to go out and come back in. This does come in handy though, if you switch between the subway and the bus.
Come to think of it, I wonder how the "single swipe" transfer works at the turnstiles? Does it give you multiple turns?
Yes it does. It says "Go 2Xfer" (or whatever the number of people making the transfers was) and gives you two chances to push the turnstile rather than one.
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