Beginning on Sunday, base fares for subways and buses will rise by a quarter, to $2.50. The cost of a 30-day unlimited MetroCard will increase by $8, to $112.
In this dark hour, there is perhaps only one force that can provide a refuge for riders: math!
The central calculation for many MetroCard users â€" whether to purchase a pay-per-ride card or a 30-day unlimited card â€" is fairly simple. Under the new fare structure, the “break-even point,†when buying an unlimited card becomes the better deal, is 48 rides, given the pay-per-ride bonuses afforded to riders. The old number was 50. (For a full accounting, see this post.)
The more cumbersome task is deciphering how riders can squeeze out maximum value during the final days of the old fares.
For time-based cards, like the 30-day pass, the clock does not begin ticking until a card is first used â€" regardless of when it is purchased. But to quell the threat of bulk-buying before the change, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has decreed that for cards purchased before the increase kicks in, the 30-day clock starts ticking March 11 or on first use, whichever is earlier.
So how can a 30-day cardholder beat the system in the days to come It depends on how expertly the last card purchase was timed. Here’s the breakdown:
1) If your card will expire before March 11, the choice is easy. Buy a new 30-day card before Sunday, at the old rate of $104, and then begin using it once the old card is up.
2) If your card expires just after the March 11 ! deadline, the equation becomes trickier. Divide the cost of any existing card ($104) by the number of days it can be used (30), and you’ll find that a rider pays nearly $3.47 per day for an unlimited card.
If a rider stops using the old card with, say, two days left, then, he is not collecting on double that value, or $6.93. But at $112, the new 30-day card costs $8 more than one purchased before this Sunday.
As a result, even riders holding a 30-day card that expires on March 12 or March 13 can, in effect, save money by buying a new card before the price goes up. (For that giddy day or two after March 11, you will have two valid unlimited-ride cards. Perhaps you could lend one to a friend or use one to get around the 18-minute subway-swipe limit and swipe in a stranger as you enter.)
3) The implication, unfortunately, is that anyone whose 30-day card expires later in March is out of luck. Perhaps a gentle soul with a preferable expiration date will buy fellow riders lunch.
(Note tat all calculations assume that riders reuse existing cards to avoid a $1 surcharge for purchasing a new card, and use the system with the same frequency each day. If a rider knew, for instance, that he was going to be out of the city until late March, the analysis would be moot.)
