Reading Response: "MetroCards Becomes More Flexible"

   This article is about the bus fares going up, but the MetroCards will be more flexible in the near future. The M.T.A (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) announced that on Wednesday, riders can fill their cards with unlimited-ride time and pay-per-ride dollars. According to the article, they produce almost 160 million MetroCards each year, and they costed almost ten million dollars. Also, a MetroCard that is loaded with a dollar value and either 7 days or thirty days of unlimited rides, a swipe will be drawn from the unlimited pool first, and when those expire, the fares will be collected from the pay-per-ride value of the card. That means that people can get a ride for a very low or no price at all. And that the authorities noted that the one dollar fee would not apply to people who bought MetroCards from vendors outside of the subway system, who got theirs from their employers, or people who bought a combination of railroad and MetroCard tickets.
    Also according to the article, it is said that the authorities voted that they will raise base fares on subways and buses by a quarter, which means that they will raise the cost to $2.50. They will also increase the cost of a thirty-day unlimited ride card by eight dollars, which also means that it will be raised form one hundred four dollars to $112. And the fares on the authority 's railroads will increase by nine percent and the tolls on many major crossings will rise as well.
   According to the article, Thomas F. Prendergast, the authority's executive director, says that "...by refilling your MetroCard, you'll reduce expenses and help the environment." This means that the new additions to the payment will help the people who live here and the local environment because it reduces the wasted cards and people can save money.
  All in all, the fares and cost of toll on major crossings will increase, but paying for it got more easier and flexible, and people will not be "trapped into buying a new MetroCard" says, Mr. Prendergast.

Cited page
Flegenheimer, Matt. "MetroCards Become More Flexible." New York Times on the Web 20 Feb. 2013. Transportation. 21   
      Feb. 2013 <http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/metrocards-become-more-flexible/>.