Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
The Magic Numbers To Make The Most Of Your MetroCard With The New Fare Hike
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 25, 2015
Modified Jan 25, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 25, 2015
Modified Jan 25, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
On Thursday, the MTA board voted unanimously to pass a new round of fare hikes for 2015—starting in March, the base subway/bus pay-per-ride fare will be raised from $2.50 to $2.75, with an effective fare increase of 4.1% across the board. You can see a full list of the changes below (via MTA).
Ever since the last fare hike a few years back, the MTA has been scrutinized for how they dealt with excess change caused by the often strange numbers that came out of those ubiquitous 'bonuses.' They argue that critics completely missed the advantages of the new system, which encourages people to conserve everything on one card, and keep rolling the excess change forward. "Balance is a moot point because customers can refill their cards in three ways: time, money or both to existing MetroCards now."
Nevertheless, if you are someone who really wants to squeeze every penny out of your straphanging expense account, you'll want to know exactly how that all breaks down on a ride-by-ride level. We've taken a page from I Quant NY, who crunched the numbers last year and figured out exactly how much you should pay to be able to use up your cards fully.
Take a look at our chart below, with all numbers rounded up to end in 5 or 0.
The most important numbers, if you're a stickler for no change (or almost no change): $17.35 (7 trips), $22.30 (9), $32.20 (13), and $39.65 (16).
Obviously once you start getting into the higher amounts, you should probably consider stepping up to the 7-day or 30-day unlimited MetroCard. The big "X" factor will be at what prices the MTA sets the suggested fare amounts on the MetroCard machines—previously it was set at $9, $19 and $39 increments (plus those wacky bonus amounts), but they say that may change with the hike. "We are in the process of reprogramming and will decide on the pre-determined denominations for MetroCards at MVMs in the next several weeks," MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz told us. He added that despite the hike, the "break even on trips for a 30-day card was and remains 48 trips."
So hopefully this helps! At least for a little while longer until the MetroCard becomes as extinct as a token booth.
[With additional mathematical computations by Jessica Warriner and Ariella Cohain]
[Note: while we fiddled with our numbers, I Quant NY put up their post on this. We differ on a few cents, though]
Tagged
fare hike
metrocard
MTA
subway
train
original
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .