<p>I was looking at MetroCards and I noticed they are over $80/mo. Are there any discounts offered to students in NYC? Also, can a 30-Day MetroCard be used 24/7 or are they only good between certain hours?</p>
<p>None of which I know. If you're in K-12, you can receive a student MetroCard depending on how far away you live from your respective school. You may have seen them; they're green (7-12) and orange (K-6). However, I don't think any are offered for students of higher education (college, grad school, etc).</p>
<p>And all MetroCards can be used 24/7, unless, of course, they are the K-12 student MetroCards.</p>
<p>^not sure why this person is talking about K-12 metrocards on a college forum</p>
<p>there aren't any student discounts for metrocards and by the time you come to NY a subway or bus ride will be more expensive than it is now. a single ride is 2 bucks, the monthly card you speak of is unlimited (yes, truly unlimited) and comes in a daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly variety. The monthly one is $81 but as a college student living on campus you definitely shouldn't bother with an unlimited metrocard and just pay per ride when you happen to venture off campus.</p>
<p>No clue about when the monthly card can be used, the day pass lasts for 24 hours though. There are no discounts for college students.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don't know why you'd need the monthly pass ones unless you had a job somewhere away from campus that required subway travel. I haven't spent $80 worth of $2 metro-swipes in a month, so you'd probably be better off just paying by the ride.</p>
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Honestly, I don't know why you'd need the monthly pass ones unless you had a job somewhere away from campus that required subway travel. I haven't spent $80 worth of $2 metro-swipes in a month, so you'd probably be better off just paying by the ride.
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<p>Correct. Even if you go into the city every weekend and a couple times during the week, it's still not worth it.</p>
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a single ride is 2 bucks,
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<p>It's actually less than $2. If you buy single-ride fares in bulk, you get a discount.</p>
<p>The bulk discounts are as follows:</p>
<p>$7 for 4 rides. No time limit on when they can be used, within reason. (*)
$7.50 for unlimited rides for 1 day. If you can concentrate many errands in a single day, this can save money without needing to buy a monthly MetroCard.
$25 for unlimited rides for 7 consecutive days.</p>
<p>(*) The MetroCard itself usually has an expiration date. It's unusual for this to be a problem, as it's usually well in the future.</p>
<p>All of that makes sense. I don't think I'll need to venture off the campus very often and if I need to go downtown I'll just pay by the ride.</p>
<p>I agree with what everyone says (absolutely no need for an unlimited card)--just thought I'd add one thing in case you were curious:</p>
<p>My friends and I mostly buy the $20 metro card with a $3 bonus--you pay $20 for a $23 metro card. So you get 11 1/2 rides for the price of 10. Just make sure you keep your metro card at the end so you don't lose that $1.</p>
<p>I get the unlimited card because of how often I ride the train, but it really depends on each individual's habits.</p>
<p>The way I figured it out was when ever I got the single rides and bulk single ride cards for a month I would write their cost on the back and keep them in my pocket. At the end of the month I tallied how much I paid for them and saw that it was a few dollars more than the unlimited card was. </p>
<p>I also felt less inclined to go out with the bulk single ride cards because I knew it meant I'd be using up another of my rides. I know it's ridiculous, but you'll see. :)</p>
<p>Basically, if you find yourself riding more than three times every day (including weekends) you'll definitely save with the unlimited card. It's important to note when factoring this that you don't have to swipe during in-station transfers between trains.</p>
<p>Edited to add: when I originally evaluated these costs the unlimited card cost $76. I've noticed the city tends to up the price on the unlimited cards every so often whereas they try to keep the tourist-oriented single rides at a nice, even $2.</p>
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Basically, if you find yourself riding more than three times every day (including weekends) you'll definitely save with the unlimited card. It's important to note when factoring this that you don't have to swipe during in-station transfers between trains.
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<p>the monthly unlimited card is definitely a good value if you ride less than three times per day! It's basically designed so that if you go to work everyday (2 rides per day) and use it once or twice every wkend it's a good value. Also don't forget that you get a free subway-bus or bus-subway transfer. </p>
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Edited to add: when I originally evaluated these costs the unlimited card cost $76. I've noticed the city tends to up the price on the unlimited cards every so often whereas they try to keep the tourist-oriented single rides at a nice, even $2.
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<p>unfortunately that is no longer the case....the MTA's new proposal is to increase the base far as high as $3 and the monthly card to $105! I personally don't think they'll go that high....it'll probably end up at $2.50 a ride. This increase is scheduled to happen in June btw.</p>
<p>Shraf, sorry, I meant more than twice a day not including weekends. Yeah, my main point was that the monthly unlimited card is definitely useful, contrary to what a lot of posts here state.</p>
<p>Thanks for helping clarify. Also, regarding the MTA increase talks: damn.</p>
<p>Edited to say: That's a lie. I did mean more than three times a day. :D Thanks for correcting my shady logic.</p>
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Yeah, my main point was that the monthly unlimited card is definitely useful, contrary to what a lot of posts here state.
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<p>oh i certainly wasn't saying that the monthly unlimited is useless....i buy them myself....but i didn't when i was at columbia....unless you are a commuter you don't need one</p>
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unfortunately that is no longer the case....the MTA's new proposal is to increase the base far as high as $3 and the monthly card to $105! I personally don't think they'll go that high....it'll probably end up at $2.50 a ride. This increase is scheduled to happen in June btw.
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<p>Good work blowing thru a billion dollar surplus, MTA!</p>
<p>At the beginning of every semester I just tack on another $40 bucks to the metrocard and I usually run out by the end. You won't be leaving campus often enough to justify a monthly pass.</p>
<p>"unfortunately that is no longer the case....the MTA's new proposal is to increase the base far as high as $3 and the monthly card to $105! I personally don't think they'll go that high....it'll probably end up at $2.50 a ride. This increase is scheduled to happen in June btw."</p>
<p>OMG NOOOO</p>
<p>That's so sad :(</p>
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At the beginning of every semester I just tack on another $40 bucks to the metrocard and I usually run out by the end. You won't be leaving campus often enough to justify a monthly pass.
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<p>Are you aware that the cards have expiration dates? (Technically you can transfer money from an expired card onto a new card, but it's a big hassle. But also the physical swipe could get worse and not work.)) You should get a new card every time.</p>
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You should get a new card every time.
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<p>this is a complete waste....definitely don't do this</p>
<p>also to take advantage of the 15% bonus you should refill your metrocard $10 at a time which would give you a $1.50 bonus. </p>
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Are you aware that the cards have expiration dates?
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<p>when you get a metrocard it expires approximately a year later so you shouldn't have a problem with the expiration date</p>
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At the beginning of every semester I just tack on another $40 bucks to the metrocard
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<p>this is a bad idea. I lost a $20 metrocard once and it really sucked. I see some ppl walking around with $80+ on their metrocard and it's just dumb...no need to carry that much money on a flimsy piece of plastic that you don't have much control over if you lose.</p>
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when you get a metrocard it expires approximately a year later so you shouldn't have a problem with the expiration date
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<p>Huh? If you keep refilling your metrocard, you'll eventually have a problem with the expiration date.</p>
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this is a complete waste....definitely don't do this
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<p>Why is it a complete waste? It takes a few less seconds to get a new card. You reduce the expiration date problem. You avoid having too much value on any one "flimsy piece of plastic," as you say.</p>
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If you keep refilling your metrocard, you'll eventually have a problem with the expiration date.
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<p>only if you're an idiot....my point was that the expiration date is so far in the future that you have pleanty of time to use your metrocard</p>
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Why is it a complete waste?
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<p>trash...you create alot of trash if you use a metrocard a couple times and throw it away...its a huge waste</p>
<p>its actually a bit disconcerting and disappointing that the only thing you thought of when reading my comment was time</p>
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only if you're an idiot....my point was that the expiration date is so far in the future that you have pleanty of time to use your metrocard
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<p>First of all, "plenty."</p>
<p>You keep ignoring my point that if you keep reusing the same metrocard that once has an expiration date "so far in the future," you'll eventually have a metrocard that has an expiration date that's not too far in the future.</p>
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trash...you create alot of trash if you use a metrocard a couple times and throw it away...its a huge waste</p>
<p>its actually a bit disconcerting and disappointing that the only thing you thought of when reading my comment was time
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<p>Ok, is it your position that the ONLY benefit of reusing your metrocard is something along the lines of purportedly protecting the environment and not creating trash? If not, state any other benefit of reusing your metrocard.</p>
<p>There are at least five reasons -- some more important than others, of course -- not to reuse your metrocard: 1) reducing the risk of the expiration date problem, 2) a card that has been swiped a bunch of times is more likely to fail than a card that hasn't been swiped much, 3) it's safer to keep less money on any one card, 4) it takes slightly less time to get a new card than to have the machine refill your old card, and 5) there may be a risk the machine ruins your old card when you stick it in the machine to have it refilled.</p>