Maximizing Fare System Innovation

It's great that the New York MTA is overhauling its fare system and doing away with the MetroCard, but there's so much more potential to realize.

March 1, 2018, 6am PST | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

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Colin Wright of TransitCenter and Vincent Pellecchia and Nick Sifuentes of Tri-State Transportation Campaign have authored the "A New Way to Ride" [pdf] report to prepare for the MTA's adoption of a tap-based fare system.

"[The report] focuses on several fundamental changes advocates believe the MTA should begin discussing in advance of the phase out, including all-door bus boarding, 'fare capping' and new data collection to improve commutes," according to an article by Vincent Barone sharing the news of the new report.

The report also digs into the potential benefits of the new data the tap system will collect. As for how the new fare system is expected to work: "The slow rollout of the new technology will begin in the spring of 2019, with bank cards and smartphone payments made available at 500 station turnstiles and 600 buses," according to Barone. "The system will be available citywide by September 2020."

In addition to a pdf version of the report posted online, the TransitCenter website has a post introducing the recommendations detailed in the report. The TransitCenter team has also produced the following nifty animation to explain the concept of fare capping.