NYC

NYC Subway Prices Going Up

Mar 6th, 2009
by Sean.
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mta-new-york-city-transit

According to the MTA New York City Transit, they are in a huge budget deficit. To balance the current and future budgets, MTA plans to raise the fares for the subway rides, and other modes of transportation.

The current price for one fare in a New York City subway is $2. MTA proposes to raise the base fare to as high as $2.50, a 25% increase. Subsequently, all unlimited ride MetroCards will increase as a result of this fare hike. The percentage increase for the unlimited ride MetroCards are approximately 25%, similar to the base fare hike.

Here is how the prices for the MetroCards will look like before and after the fare hike:

Base Fare Single Ride MetroCard
Current Cost: $2
Proposed Cost: $2.50 (25% increase)
Good for one subway and local bus ride.

1-Day Fun Pass (One Day Unlimited)
Current Cost: $7.50
Proposed Price: $9.50 (26% increase)
Good for unlimited subway and local bus rides from first use until 3 a.m. the following day.

7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard (Weekly Unlimited)
Current Cost: $25
Proposed Price: $31 (24% increase)
Good for unlimited subway and local bus rides until midnight, 7 days from day of first use.

14-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard (Bi-Weekly Unlimited)
Current Cost: $47
Proposed Price: $59 (25.5% increase)
Good for unlimited subway and local bus rides until midnight, 14 days from day of first use.

30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard (Monthly Unlimited)
Current Cost: $81
Proposed Price: $103 (27% increase)
Good for unlimited subway and local bus rides until midnight, 30 days from day of first use.

Cost Impact For Me
I take the MTA subway on a regular basis to and from work, therefore I purchase the 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard every month. The current cost is $81 per month x 12 months / year = $972 per year. The proposed price is $103 per month x 12 months / year = $1,236 per year. The extra cost to me would be $264 a year.

My Statement
Personally, I do not understand how the MTA New York City Transit can have a budget deficit. The NYC subway is one of the busiest hub of transportation in the world. With 8 million riders a day, the daily income must be enormous. There should be plenty of cash for the executive management group in MTA to work with and make smart financial decisions.  This deficit is a failure on their part and makes me think that the MTA either has horrible money management skills or is involved with embezzlement. In any case, the straphangers are the ones left footing the bill. I hope MTA is now making the right financial decisions and this fare hike will help solve the budget issue.


Business Idea #3: Taxi Debit Cards

Sep 26th, 2007
by Sean.
2 comments

Background
In the city that never sleeps, there are taxis roaming the streets at all times of the day. There are always taxis stopping at every corner of the street and often holding up traffic. Once, on my way home, there was this taxi that stopped right in front of the bus I was sitting on. The bus honked but the taxi driver didn’t move. The taxi driver was closing a transaction with the passenger. It took about 30 seconds, but 30 seconds is a long time in a fast pace city. So I thought, “How can we speed up money transactions in cabs?”

Business Idea
The idea is to allow the customer to pay with a debit card and have the payment processed instantly on the spot. The goal is to speed up the payment transaction time and implement a central payment processing system for taxis. The user will have an option to select an additional amount for tips. For security purposes, the user will have to punch in a pin number to approve the payment.

Debit Card Interface
The machines will have numeral keys zero to nine, a pre-defined 10%, 15%, and an ‘Other’ tip button, an ‘Enter’, and a ‘Cancel’ button. The pre-defined tip buttons are set for the customer’s convenience.

Implementation
There will be two debit card readers in the taxi, one in the front passenger seat and one at the back seats. The readers are linked to the taxi meters. The card readers will sync with a central server on a pre-determined period to keep the local card reader database up to date. The sync process can be done with wires or over a wireless network.

Scenario
Customer enters a taxi. The taxi travels from Point A to Point B. Before arriving Point B, the customer swipes his/her debit card on the machine. The machine now has the card number stored. Once the taxi reaches the destination, the total fare is displayed to the customer. The customer enters the tip amount by pressing the pre-defined 10% button and then enter his/her pin number to approve the transaction. The payment is processed instantly and the customer leaves the cab. No bills, no coins, no hassle.

Benefits
The debit cards will save time for both the customer and the taxi driver, plus speed up traffic. The taxi drivers in New York City frequently double park on busy streets and block traffic. The debit card system can help speed up the payment transaction times and allow the cab to move with traffic sooner.

Tracking
The machine will also log detailed information and the information can be access via a website. The taxi driver will be able to get reports on how many customers have ridden over the past day, week, or month, as well as fare earned, average fare, etc. The customers can also get similar reports on his/her number of cab rides over the past week, month, or year, as well as the amount spent, average cost, etc. The website will also allow customers to refill their debit card balance.

Additional Features
The taxi payment system can be integrated with credit card systems to allow more types of payments. This also makes payments more convenient for customers who do not have taxi debit cards.