Swipe again. Swipe again. Swipe again at this turnstile.
Yes, the sad song of the subway sap-sucker. On Easter Sunday I caught the #6 at the 86th and Lex. subway station to meet some friends. As I tried to swipe my monthly unlimited MetroCard, the dreaded swipe again mantra began as my train pulled into the station. After five or six futile swipes the turnstile reader changed to just used.
Usually at this point I would use my New York subway savvy, pull the handle halfway back and painfully squeeze myself through the turnstile, cops be damned. But I was wearing good pants and didn’t want to tear them, so I sadly watched as my train departed.
But then an Easter miracle happened. A friendly, helpful MTA customer service rep quickly appeared, apologized profusely and handed me a MetroCard good for two free rides for my inconvenience. He then whipped out his cell and called a maintenance guy, who fixed the turnstile immediately so the same thing wouldn’t happen to some other poor sap.
And then the Easter Bunny hopped over and handed me a huge basket of chocolate!
Ok, here’s what really happened. After I missed my train I looked for the station agent. But a sign on the darkened, empty booth read This is no longer in full time operation. I had to buy another MetroCard I didn’t need to get on the subway, waited ten minutes for the next #6 and arrived late. Thanks MTA!
A friend of mine had a similar experience at one of the few remaining stations that still have agents on hand at night. After futilely swiping over and over, she asked the station agent for a replacement card–and was refused. She was instructed to mail her monthly unlimited card back to the MTA for replacement. What was she supposed to do in the meantime? “Buy another MetroCard, I guess,” said the helpful agent. “But then I’ll lose–” “Next!”
If you regularly ride the subways, you know that turnstile failure is happening with increasing frequency. Station agents are supposed to clean the turnstile readers daily to prevent such occurrences, but these agents are disappearing.
The public spirited citizens who volunteer to serve on the MTA board (oh, and get paid almost a quarter of a million each for this part time gig) say they are doing everything in their power to remedy the situation. They told The New York Post they have assigned station chiefs and cleaners to do this daily maintenance on the turnstiles. But the union, pissed off about layoffs, has told the cleaners its not part of their job.
So the next time you encounter this problem, just ask your local station chief for help. How will you know him?
He’ll be standing right beside the Easter Bunny.
Somewhere in the underground system is a hidden camera, connected to a screen in a private hidden room. MTA employees go there on break and laugh their heads off while watching people at the turnstiles continually swiping their Metrocards.
Last week I was on a jury in Manhattan. The case involved a crackup between an MTA bus and a cab. They had a hellova time finding people who could be objective for the jury. Nobody likes the MTA — and we know cab drivers are 90% dreadful drivers. I think I was chosen because I could manage to go in with my dislikes evenly balanced.
hello, misdirected blame.
Admittedly, the MTA is not the best organization in existence. However, the reason there was no station agent is budget cuts, and the reason there are budget cuts is that despite serving far more people than any other mass transit system in the country, the MTA receives proportionally less State and Federal support than almost all other transit systems, which means it’s no surprise that the fares paid by riders cover more of the costs of running trains and buses in NYC than elsewhere.
Tell your elected representatives that the MTA deserves the same proportional subsidies that transit authorities in other cities receive. Also, you could demand reform of Authorities as a whole, or even push for the merger of the Port Authority, which is rolling in dough, and the MTA.
i like your writing style.
and the easter bunny.
can i repost this on my blog (www.subwaysubculture.blogspot.com).
i’m always looking for real stories about how people feel about the subway.
Thanks Marta. Sure you can.
Mike V