METROSHARE UNLIMITED

Tonight, I am launching the Metroshare Unlimited Campaign.  Here's what I'm going to say at the MTA's public hearing about proposed fare hikes and service cuts:

A fare hike is the wrong move in hard times.  

Raising fares is a regressive measure, hitting low-income New Yorkers the hardest when they can least afford an increase of this necessary expense.  The impact on teens and young adults will be terrible, as they find themselves confined to their neighborhoods except when traveling to and from paid employment.

Today, I'm here to address unlimited MetroCard riders.  It's time to share a valued resource that we've paid for.  I'm urging unlimited card-holders to identify themselves on the way OUT of a turnstile.  Say "I metroshare" or "you can ask me."  And then swipe someone into the turnstile as you exit.  If you swipe someone IN on your way OUT, you help someone save a few dollars.  In the past, the MTA has encouraged riders to share unlimited MetroCards with other family members.  I'm asking everyone to consider other New Yorkers as part of your family and to share a ride.

Of course, it's always illegal to sell a swipe.  But the MetroCard is NOT non-transferable, which means that sharing a swipe is completely legal and does not violate the MTA's Conditions of Use.

On July 16, 2008, the New York Times published what they called "The MetroCard Bell Curve" to report the finding that the average user of an unlimited monthly MetroCard takes 56 rides, bringing the cost of a ride down to about $1.45.  That average included less than 1800 riders who take 100 trips a month AND over 10,000 riders who aren't really getting their money's worth from their monthly passes.  When the price of a monthly pass goes to $105, the MTA is going to find that these 10,000+ riders will trade the convenience of a monthly card for the 15% savings on $20 cards, and revenues will sink rather than rise.

Metrosharing, or swiping someone IN on your way OUT, is a way to get your money's worth and to help each other.  New York City fare-sharers are going to change the culture of the subway and the city.

It's time for the MTA to think big about the role of public mass transit.  It is never a good time to discourage the use of mass transit, but falling gas prices make this a vulnerable time for our city. More traffic would choke the life from New York.  The wealth of this city is its people and our capacity to get to work and go to school.  It is the people who breathe life into our parks and museums, theaters, libraries, and stores.  We're not a great city if everyone stays home.  Don't raise the fare.