October 06, 2004

Fare hikes, smart cards in works for subways, trains

The Daily News concludes it's "inevitable" fares for weekly and monthly subway and bus passes will rise next year, but that the single-ride fare is likely to stay at $2 until 2007. Meanwhile, Newsday reports changes could be in the works for the metro cards themselves -- possibly "smart cards." Apparently New Jersey PATH trains and the AirTrains at both Newark and JFK airports will start accepting smart cards in June. The press release at the Port Authority says "(s)mart cards – plastic cards the size of a credit card that contain a microchip – are designed to be accepted eventually on subway, bus and rail lines throughout the region." Though the Newsday story says the MTA isn't so sure it's ready to invest the $100 million it says it needs to upgrade the turnstiles and fare boxes in all New York City subways and buses. Chicago, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco already use smart cards for public transit, while EZPass is used for vehicles in much of the Northeast.

October 6, 2004 09:55 AM in Arrivology, Transportology

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