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| Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards (1170240) | |
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| (1170241) | |
Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:08:23 2012, in response to Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:02:19 2012. The new “green” MetroCard surcharge is making one northeast Queens lawmaker red in the face.Assemblyman Edward Braunstein blasted the MTA on Tuesday, saying the $1 surcharge to encourage riders to re-use the cards is unfair to bus riders in his district. Many riders buy their MetroCards at Long Island Rail Road station vending machines where cards can’t be refilled, he said, forcing them to buy a new card. “Their whole justification is the environment and I get that,” said Braunstein (D-Bayside). “But if you can’t refill the card, it’s just unfair.” The surcharge has been on the table in Metropolitan Transportation Authority budget discussions since 2010. When the charge was announced in July 2011 as likely to go into effect in 2013, Braunstein wrote a letter to New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast explaining that it placed an unfair burden on an area where there are no subway stations. Prendergast wrote back that riders had the option of avoiding the surcharge if they bought the cards at off-site vendors or if they bought a combination commuter-railroad card. The preliminary 2013 budget included a number of service restorations, with a partial reinstatement of the Q79 bus, which many commuters see as key in northeast Queens where mass transit options are few. But Braunstein said that he’s not satisfied with taking the good with the bad. “We can’t just say, ‘Well, we’re happy enough’ when they’re restoring service that was already cut,” Braunstein said of the Q79, which is coming back next year after getting the axe in 2010. Steve Newman, former chairman of Community Board 11 and one-time assistant to the city transportation commissioner, said the fee is a great way to promote environmental responsibility and generate revenue for the MTA. But “you shouldn’t be penalized for something if you can’t do it,” Newman said. Customers can use Easy PayXpress to buy their MetroCards, an MTA spokesman said, which allows customers to avoid the charge by automatically deducting purchases from their credit or debit cards. The spokesman, Kevin Ortiz, also noted that there are many off-site vendors available to riders, and said that making refillable cards available for sale at LIRR stations is “something we’re looking into.” ---http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/lawmaker-rips-new-metrocard-surcharge-unfair-northeast-queens-article-1.1126779#ixzz22ScaVqUa |
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| (1170250) | |
Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Aug 3 05:00:49 2012, in response to Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:08:23 2012. Another politician "takes on the MTA". |
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| (1170299) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to underfund/starve transit |
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Posted by orange blossom special on Fri Aug 3 09:50:03 2012, in response to Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:02:19 2012. is the title had this guy been a Republican in any city, or especially Amtrak.But don't let me put doublestandards in the way... |
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| (1170529) | |
Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Newkirk Images on Sat Aug 4 08:26:34 2012, in response to Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Aug 3 05:00:49 2012. Another politician "takes on the MTA".Their voters who out them in office just love a Davy and Goliath confrontation with the MTA. Bill Newkirk |
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| (1170530) | |
Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Newkirk Images on Sat Aug 4 08:30:07 2012, in response to Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:08:23 2012. I don't know if this has been mentioned, but how about a sliding scale of nominal discounts when refilling all multi ride Metrocards instead of being charged for buying a new one.Wouldn't that create an incentive to reuse the old cards until no longer usable ? Bill Newkirk |
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| (1170662) | |
Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Sat Aug 4 22:56:21 2012, in response to Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:08:23 2012. So make the ones included on the back of LIRR tickets surcharge free. It's already saving the environment since it is dual purpose. |
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| (1170665) | |
Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Jackson Park B Train on Sat Aug 4 23:21:08 2012, in response to Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Aug 3 05:00:49 2012. cynicism aside, there is no excuse for TVMs which can't refill cards. sorta like deploying parking meters which require some special ticket unavailable within miles of the meter. |
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| (1170673) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by MATHA531 on Sun Aug 5 00:58:47 2012, in response to Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:02:19 2012. He's an assemblyman? Well let the State Legislature simply pass legislation prohibiting the MTA from charging people $1 for a card worth less than a tenth of a cent. That would be the end of this nonsense.Now if the MTA had entered the 21st century and we were talking about smart cards, that would be a different story. |
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| (1170902) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by Dyre Dan on Mon Aug 6 05:49:08 2012, in response to Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:02:19 2012. Huh? Metrocards are used on the subway, not the LIRR, so how can LIRR vending machines be the "only available outlets" for any user, when every subway station has Metrocard machines that do refills? |
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| (1170903) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by merrick1 on Mon Aug 6 06:48:53 2012, in response to Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Dyre Dan on Mon Aug 6 05:49:08 2012. There are bus riders in Queens who never get near the subway and buy Metrocards at LIRR stations but the number is probably very small. They can always buy Metrocards at the corner deli or buy one of those automatic refilling Metrocards online. |
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| (1170914) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by Handbrake on Mon Aug 6 08:43:06 2012, in response to Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Gold_12TH on Fri Aug 3 02:02:19 2012. . How does an MTA policy maker know the pain at the MCM if their transit fare is free???As usual with public benefit corporations run by individuals who either don't use mass transit themselves, or if they do, do not pay for using any part of the system, including EZPass over bridges & tunnels, they just don't get it. The one dollar surcharge is just an insensitive number that someone threw up at the ceiling during a board meeting that stuck. I can agree to a twenty five cent surcharge to a new MetroCard, but one dollar is a steep price. |
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| (1170917) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by MATHA531 on Mon Aug 6 08:56:00 2012, in response to Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by merrick1 on Mon Aug 6 06:48:53 2012. ...but if you have to buy a metrocard at a corner deli,you might not be able to use a credit card. Many people don't walk around with the cash necessary to do that! |
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| (1170937) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by orange blossom special on Mon Aug 6 11:09:32 2012, in response to Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Handbrake on Mon Aug 6 08:43:06 2012. The Card I use at my "landrymat" now costs $1.00 to issue. Too many people would lose them and get new ones.Why is $1.00 reasonable to everyone else, even 'immigrants' at a lavendaria, but somehow it's insensitive to people living in the highest cost of living and pay cities in the county? I don't buy it. I buy it even less, I say that's crap. $5 dollars to make up the gap for the pay increases in the future. |
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| (1171067) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by Mr RT on Tue Aug 7 07:19:08 2012, in response to Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Dyre Dan on Mon Aug 6 05:49:08 2012. LI Bus/Veolia customers don't have access to subway station MVMs.The LIRR sells two MC only cards, $4.50 & $20 |
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| (1171068) | |
Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Mr RT on Tue Aug 7 07:25:05 2012, in response to Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens, posted by Jackson Park B Train on Sat Aug 4 23:21:08 2012. The LIRR has to use TVM because they have to be able to write on the card stock, i.e. Valley Stream to Penn Stn - one way - off peak |
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| (1171069) | |
Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens |
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Posted by Mr RT on Tue Aug 7 07:27:32 2012, in response to Re: Lawmaker rips new MetroCard surcharge as ‘unfair’ to northeast Queens, posted by Newkirk Images on Sat Aug 4 08:30:07 2012. Only if the stop the charge to get a refund,i.e. if you re-use a MC you increase the chance that it won't work. I've seen EZ Pay & Student MCs that are realy used up (ware). |
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| (1171070) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by Mr RT on Tue Aug 7 07:29:02 2012, in response to Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by MATHA531 on Sun Aug 5 00:58:47 2012. They have been TALKING about smart cards for years now :-( |
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| (1171087) | |
Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards |
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Posted by #5 - Dyre Ave on Tue Aug 7 09:55:38 2012, in response to Re: Queens assemblyman trying to nix proposed $1 surcharge on MetroCards, posted by Dyre Dan on Mon Aug 6 05:49:08 2012. In northeast and southeast Queens, you're a long way off from the nearest subway station (thank NIMBYs and Albany clowns for that big mistake). If you're in those area and your MetroCard runs out or expires, you can't refill it unless you can somehow get to a subway station in Flushing or Jamaica. You certainly can't refill your MetroCard on a local bus. |
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