Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
MetroCard App Helps You Add Mathematically Right Amount Of Money
By
Lauren Evans
Published Feb 25, 2015
Modified Feb 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 .
Metroptimizer 2
By
Lauren Evans
Published Feb 25, 2015
Modified Feb 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
You probably don't want to think about the amount of change you've left trapped on old MetroCards, because it would depress you—but not quiiiite enough to stop doing it.
For the math-averse penny pincher in all of us comes Metroptimizer 2, a nerdishly named app that, in just a few swipes, saves you the trouble of using your brain to work out how to maximize your MetroCard. The app works in three steps, with zero deep-thought forehead wrinkles:
1. Put in how much money is on your MetroCard.
2. Pick whether you're using a new card or a refill.
3. The app tells you how much money to put on so you don't end up with change on the MetroCard.
Boom. Metroptimizer's biggest selling point, however, is that it will automatically account for new fares set to go into effect later this month, sparing Gothamist reporters the multi-hour agony that comes with doing basic math.
Tagged
Loose change
metrocard
money
MTA
Lauren Evans
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Teen drowns at Rockaway Beach after lifeguards clear their shifts for the day
Lifeguards had finished work at 6 p.m. but had remained at their station houses nearby because the city’s heat emergency plan was active on Sunday.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Aug 11, 2026 at 12:31 p.m. ET
Harlem residents fight affordable housing project that would displace healthcare center
Residents say the current fight is not a case of NIMBYism, but rather an effort to preserve a healthcare center that serves low-income and uninsured patients.
By
Walter Wuthmann
News
Harlem residents fight affordable housing project that would displace healthcare center
Residents say the current fight is not a case of NIMBYism, but rather an effort to preserve a healthcare center that serves low-income and uninsured patients.
By
Walter Wuthmann
Juror identities will be protected at Luigi Mangione’s upcoming NYC trial, judge says
By
Samantha Max
Why we still adore NYC's very own Spider-Man 'schmuck' after a bajillion movies
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
16-year-old Bronx teen who was fatally shot may have been handling a gun that mistakenly fired
By
Brittany Kriegstein
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 .