The MTA will launch a marketing campaign to teach riders how to pay the least amount of money for the greatest number of rides, the agency’s chief told The Post.
That’s because scores of subway and bus riders are buying MetroCards that are more expensive than necessary, MTA Chairman Joe Lhota told The Post’s editorial board.
“I’m convinced . . . folks don’t know how to buy MetroCards and what makes the most sense for them,” Lhota said.
The campaign will have an educational component that tells riders what MetroCard to buy — depending on the number of rides and the mode of transit they take, Lhota said.
It will likely begin in March 2013, after the latest fare hike goes into effect.
Those hikes could send the cost of the monthly MetroCard soaring to $125.
That means a rider would need to make 59 trips a month to break even with a pay-per-ride card.
Many don’t make that many trips a month and could do better with pay-per-ride, Lhota said.
Meanwhile, 15 percent of straphangers pay a nondiscounted rate on subways and buses by buying single rides or by buying a MetroCard with a value less than $10. That figure is way too high, Lhota said.
“People were like, ‘Even if I don’t use it, I want to know that I can take as many rides as I can without paying [again].”
Karen Jave, 19
Queensborough Community College student
By IKIMULISA LIVINGSTON
This subway rider thought buying an unlimited monthly MetroCard was saving her money — until she did the math.
College student Karen Jave, 19, buys a $104 30-day unlimited MetroCard and makes a maximum of 48 trips each month.
According to the MTA’s formula, a rider needs to take 50 trips on an unlimited 30-day card to break even.
Instead, Jave could purchase a $102 pay-per-ride MetroCard, and adding in the 7 percent bonus would give her $109.14
At $2.25 a trip, she would get 48 rides.
Overall, she would save $2.
“It’s horrible that I’m paying [extra] money!” said Jave, who said she’ll now switch to a pay-per-ride card.