Delays, ghost trains, and fare hikes have become a weekly ritual for New York commuters. At what point do you finally ditch the unlimited card and start expensing Ubers instead?
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Add your commentThe MTA has been 'fixing' the signal system since I was in college. I graduated in 2003. TWENTY. TWO. YEARS. At what point does fixing become a permanent state of being broken? I'm not anti-public transit, I love the IDEA of the subway. The execution is what makes me want to move to literally anywhere else.
I've had my unlimited MetroCard for 11 years straight. Eleven. Years. And yes, the MTA has let me down more times than I can count, but you know what? A 30-day unlimited is still like $132 and a single Uber from Astoria to midtown is already $40. The math doesn't lie, people. You'd burn through the cost of a monthly card in four cab rides. The subway is broken, yes. But it's still the only financially sane option for most of us.
My grandmother used to ride the subway every single day from Bay Ridge to her job in garment district, for decades, through the crack epidemic and the blackouts and everything else this city threw at her. She always said 'the train is late but it always comes.' I think about that when I'm standing on a platform for 20 minutes. Doesn't make it okay. Just makes it feel less personal.
Born and raised in the Bronx, never owned a car, never will. People talking about Uber like it's some kind of solution clearly don't commute five days a week. You know what an Uber surge looks like at 8:47am on a Monday? It's a hostage situation. The subway, delays and all, is the backbone of this city and it always will be.
I'd like to challenge any subway defender on here to ride the A train from Far Rockaway to Howard Beach every single morning for two weeks and then come tell me the unlimited card is a great deal. I'll wait. The service gaps in the outer boroughs vs. Manhattan are embarrassing and nobody in the conversation ever talks about it.
The MTA is controlled by the state, not the city. The Governor appoints the MTA board chair. So yeah, the person above me is off — yell at Albany, not City Hall. That said, the unlimited card is absolutely still worth it if you're riding 45+ times a month which most full-time commuters easily hit. Do the arithmetic before you make decisions based on frustration.
I moved here from Chicago eight months ago and I genuinely cannot believe the state of the subway. The CTA is bad but this is a whole other level. Three F trains skipped my stop last Tuesday at 6pm. Rush hour. Just... skipped it. No announcement, no nothing. And then they wonder why ridership numbers aren't recovering post-pandemic.
Expensing Ubers lmaoooo what planet do these people live on. My boss would laugh me out of the building. This isn't a McKinsey internship, most people in this city don't have jobs that cover transportation beyond the commuter benefits card. Keep it real.
Honest question for New Yorkers who switched to per-ride: do you actually save money or does it just FEEL like you're spending less because you're not paying a lump sum upfront? Asking genuinely because I'm considering it but I commute 5 days a week from Jackson Heights and I feel like the math won't work out.
Switched to biking two years ago. Best decision of my life, no joke. Citi Bike annual is $180ish, faster than the train for most of my trips under 3 miles, and I'm not trapped underground having a slow-motion breakdown when service goes out. Not for everyone obviously but people sleep on it hard.
ditched mine in march and haven't looked back. remote work 3 days a week means i was literally throwing money away every month. just do the omny tap now and pay per ride. not everything has to be all or nothing lol
Fun fact nobody mentions: the unlimited MetroCard actually became worth LESS when they raised the fare because the card price went up but the per-ride value calculation barely changed. My coworker at the transit authority confirmed this and honestly I think most people don't realize how quietly the MTA has been squeezing riders for years.
the unlimited card is worth it. congestion pricing is supposed to fund subway improvements so maybe in a few years we'll actually see results. or maybe not. this is the MTA. but i'm not giving up on public transit just because it's currently a disaster. giving up is how you get a city full of cars and nobody wants that.
okay someone correct me if im wrong but i thought the MTA was actually federally funded mostly and the city doesnt really control it? so getting mad at Adams or whoever is kind of pointless right
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