Figuring out which Metrocard gives the biggest bang for your buck can be complicated — especially with a fare hike on the horizon coming Friday.
Some of us just take the train back and forth to work, and others are on it seven days a week, three or four times a day. Here’s a guide to the card that’s right for you.
The Two-timer
You need the train to get to work and back home, and that’s pretty much it. That means you ride twice a day, 10 times a week, 40 times a month. With the hike, base-fare cards — or per-ride cards — will cost $2.50 per ride.
A monthly unlimited card will run $112, but since you don’t use the train all the time, are you paying too much? Yes.
Your best bet: Put $100 on a per-ride card. You get an extra free ride for every $50 spent, so you’ll have a total of 42 rides and will save 12 cents per ride.
The Rail Thing
It seems like you’re on the subway all the time. You ride to and from work and go out every weekend. During any given month, you might ride the train 70 times without breaking a sweat.
If you went with a base- fare card, at 70 rides per month, you’d be paying a total of $166.60.
Your best bet: The monthly unlimited, for $112.
The Ne’er-do-ride
You take the train once or twice a month. Everything you need is in the neighborhood, and you hate navigating the crowds, the stairs and the grime.
Your best bet: Even at your rare rate of travel, it pays to get a base-rate card with more than one ride. Even if it’s two rides at $2.50 a pop, it’s better than paying the $2.75 for the single-ride ticket.
The Sole Man
You’re a Manhattanite who uses the subway but walks whenever that makes more sense. Or you live in a neighborhood in Queens, Brooklyn or The Bronx that’s not close to a train, so you drive a lot, but sometimes use the subway. You’re not on the train every day of the work week, but you might take it to see the Knicks or Nets play, or to see your aunt in Astoria.
In an average month, you ride the rails maybe 10 times, at the most.
Your best bet: You’re going to spend $23.80 if you buy a base-fare card and put 10 rides on it. The unlimited ride cards don’t make sense. And neither does a single-ride ticket (not to be confused with the per-ride cards), which costs $2.75 a pop.