A MetroCard is a thin plastic cards that is used to pay for bus and subway fares in New York City.
What Type of MetroCards Are There?
There are two types of MetroCards: Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards and Unlimited Ride MetroCards.
Where Can I Buy A MetroCard?
- MetroCards are available for sale in NYC Subway stations.
- MetroCards are not available for sale on NYC buses.
- Merchants displaying MetroCard signs in their windows (newsstands, grocery stores, etc.) sell select types of MetroCards.
Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards
- Rides are $2 each, but if you put $7 or more on your card, you get a 15% bonus.
- This only applies at time of purchase i.e. if you put $4 and then later $3 on your card you do not get the bonus.
- In effect, if you buy 7 rides ($14) you'll get your 8th ride free.
- In order to avoid having wonky amounts on your MetroCard, you'll want to put $40 on your card, and you'll get a $6 bonus, giving you 3 free rides.
- Up to 4 people can ride together on a single Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard.
- If multiple people are riding together on the same MetroCard the first person can swipe the card through the necessary number of times and other riders can walk through the turnstile following them.
- Pay per ride MetroCards are refillable.
Unlimited Ride MetroCards
- Unlimited ride Metrocards are good for one person to ride the subways and buses as much as they like during a specified window of time.
- Unlimited Ride MetroCards can not be used more than once every 18 minutes. This is designed to prevent fraudulent use of the card by multiple people.
- Subway station agents cannot override the 18 minute rule -- you must wait for the time to expire.
- 1-Day Fun Passes are $7.50 and are good for unlimited Subway and Bus rides on the day of use until 3 a.m.
- 7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCards are $25 and are good until midnight on the 7th day.
- 14-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCards are $47 and are good until midnight on the 14th day.
- 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCards are $81 and are good until midnight on the 30th day.
- Monthly metrocards that are lost or stolen and purchased with a credit or atm card are insured against lost. How to claim a credit for unused days on your lost or stolen MetroCard.
How Can I Pay for a MetroCard?
- MetroCard Vending Machines inside Subway stations take cash, ATM cards, and credit cards.
- MetroCard Vending Machines can only return $6 change, and do so with dollar coins.
- Subway Station Booths only accept cash for purchase of MetroCards.
- 1 Day Fun Passes are not available from Subway station booths.
How Do I Know How Much Time/Money is Left on My MetroCard?
- When you swipe a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard through a Subway turnstile, you will see the remaining balance displayed.
- MetroCard Readers are available at Station Booths and in Subway Stations and if you scan your card through, it will display the expiration date for Unlimited Ride MetroCards, as well as the remaining balance on your Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard.
Good to Know: Single Ride Tickets
- Single Ride tickets cost $2.
- They are available for sale only through MetroCard Vending Machines in Subway stations.
- They can only be purchased using cash.
- They must be used within 2 hours of purchase to ride a Subway or Bus.
- They are valid for one transfer Bus to Bus.
