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New York City Plans to Replace Transit MetroCard With Electronic Card Readers That Support Apple Pay

WBRacing said:
That's great, hopefully they can also find the money to get in some cleaners for the stations and platforms. Having been to Hong Kong where even people are paid to stand there sanitising the escalator handrails, the NYC metro is frankly embarrassing by comparison.
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Before we start paying people to wipe the mouse urine off our handrails, I think we'd all rather stop the derailments and switch failures and fires that actually stop the trains from working.

I'm gonna take a guess and say that if you like sanitized, orderly environments, NYC probably ain't your place in general, my friend.
 
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steve knight said:
in portland we had a pass that would show on the phone finally they have a nfc card or you can pay with your phone. They are working on software that lets your phone become the card.
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In Seattle, on the other hand.... sigh... and we think we are the new San Francisco.
 
Honestly, with the NFC embedded in the phone, Apple should cooperate with major city transit systems to allow owners to add a virtual transit card into wallet, and be able to just use it like a regular NFC card without the need to authenticate your phone using Face ID or Touch ID. Needing to authenticate will inevitably slow things down. And Android users have been able to do this for some systems for a while using non-officially supported NFC card emulators.
 
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zorinlynx said:
One advantage of the way MetroCard is designed is you can swipe your card as you walk through the turnstile, allowing large groups of people to move through quickly once they know to have their card out and ready (which you learn quickly, even a visitor to the city like myself)

Do we really want people fumbling with their phones trying to Touch ID to go through the turnstile? This will slow things down quite a bit compared to the current system.
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It doesn't slow things down in London. The NFC readers are very responsive, and Tube passengers quickly got used to having their phones ready in the same way they used to have their Oyster cards ready.
 
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SoggyCheese said:
This works incredibly well in London. Busses, Tubes and even the regional overland trains all take Apple Pay. It's very handy not having to show the world which pocket your wallet is in.
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Apple Pay also takes much longer, which is why most people stick to Oyster or contactless cards. If everyone used their phones to pay, the system would slow down.
 
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WBRacing said:
That's great, hopefully they can also find the money to get in some cleaners for the stations and platforms. Having been to Hong Kong where even people are paid to stand there sanitising the escalator handrails, the NYC metro is frankly embarrassing by comparison.
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Putting aesthetics aside, they should implement a better system to prevent passengers killed number going above 80 every year. A screen door system would help a lot.

But as a Bostonian I am in no position to scold MTA. RIP MBTA.
 
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SoggyCheese said:
It takes no longer if you have your phone ready for the thumbprint as you get to the reader.
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Sorry, but this just isn't true. It has to scan your finger and it does take longer than contactless cards, which in turn takes slightly longer than Oyster. I see hapless people using their phones on the gates all the time, and every single time it takes longer than a simple contactless card.
 
PhoenixDown said:
Downside is when your phone dies and you realize you can't get home. lol
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That's when you use your NFC enabled debit card instead. Using the phone is a convenience thing mostly. You're more likely to have it ready to hand, because most people are either shuffling music on it or gawping at it instead of looking where they're going.
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Cybbe said:
Sorry, but this just isn't true. It has to scan your finger and it does take longer than contactless cards, which in turn takes slightly longer than Oyster. I see hapless people using their phones on the gates all the time, and every single time it takes longer than a simple contactless card.
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I see people stuck at barriers waiting for their Oysters to be read too. As with Oysters there is a knack to it.
 
Ive used my NFC enabled Debit Card in Chicago but the option was removed when my card expired ..... even if I have to pay a few bucks, I hope I can buy and store a card.
 
dontwalkhand said:
Exactly how Chicago, Philly, and London does it. You’d buy a $5 NFC plastic card if you don’t want to use your phone.
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That's right, and in addition in London, we can use NFC enabled debit and credit cards, most British banks issue them as standard now.
 
frozen220 said:
So does this mean that sometime in 2023 you have to have a smartphone to use the subway? If not, would you need to purchase a standalone NFC capable MetroCard of some kind? Wonder how much that'll cost.
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Tokyo Metro has offered the NFC capable Pasmo card since 2007 (JR East has offered the similar Suica card since 2001). You can get a Pasmo as a tourist by putting down a 500 yen deposit. At the end of your trip, you can return the card for a refund of the 500 yen, minus a 220 yen handling charge. That's an out-of-pocket expense of $2.50 at current exchange rates.

Tokyo Metro ticket vending machines also issue paper tickets. My Pasmo card ran out of funds the two days before my departure, so rather than topping it off with funds that I wouldn't have the time to use, I returned the card and bought a paper day ticket for my penultimate day.

Here in the SF Bay Area, Caltrain and BART still sell paper tickets even though both agencies are encouraging commuters to get the NFC Clipper Card. Caltrain's paper ticket fares are more expensive than the Clipper Card fares, so there's incentive to acquire the NFC card if you're a regular transit rider.

Pasmo's great. It works with the transit systems in most of Japan's largest cities, not just the Tokyo Metro. It also functions as a payment card for a lot of convenience stores, vending machines, and is accepted by some taxis.

By contrast, Clipper Card is really only good for the SF Bay Area transit systems and maybe a couple of parking garages. You can't use it to buy stuff.
 
Stephan_ said:
That's right, and in addition in London, we can use NFC enabled debit and credit cards, most British banks issue them as standard now.
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We have a few of them. My TCF bank debit card has contactless. Most people here use Apple Pay over physical contactless cards. And sticking the chip in has gotten a lot faster now at Kroger, Walgreens, etc that it’s just as fast as tapping now. It skips PIN etc as well.

Also, you can Apple Pay or use a bank card at those aforementioned cities as well. Portland let’s you tap a regular credit card/Apple Pay as of a few months ago. ...using tech from a European company of course lol!

But I still prefer Apple Pay
 
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Stephan_ said:
That's right, and in addition in London, we can use NFC enabled debit and credit cards, most British banks issue them as standard now.
Click to expand...

Bart Kela said:
Tokyo Metro has offered the NFC capable Pasmo card since 2007 (JR East has offered the similar Suica card since 2001). You can get a Pasmo as a tourist by putting down a 500 yen deposit. At the end of your trip, you can return the card for a refund of the 500 yen, minus a 220 yen handling charge. That's an out-of-pocket expense of $2.50 at current exchange rates.

Tokyo Metro ticket vending machines also issue paper tickets. My Pasmo card ran out of funds the two days before my departure, so rather than topping it off with funds that I wouldn't have the time to use, I returned the card and bought a paper day ticket for my penultimate day.

Here in the SF Bay Area, Caltrain and BART still sell paper tickets even though both agencies are encouraging commuters to get the NFC Clipper Card. Caltrain's paper ticket fares are more expensive than the Clipper Card fares, so there's incentive to acquire the NFC card if you're a regular transit rider.

Pasmo's great. It works with the transit systems in most of Japan's largest cities, not just the Tokyo Metro. It also functions as a payment card for a lot of convenience stores, vending machines, and is accepted by some taxis.

By contrast, Clipper Card is really only good for the SF Bay Area transit systems and maybe a couple of parking garages. You can't use it to buy stuff.
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When I was living in Guangzhou, China there is the "YCT" NFC card system that started rolling out 16 years ago in 2001. Seven years ago I got a debit card that also served as an NFC public transit card that can pay for subway, bus, taxi, ferry... You can also use it in convenience stores like 7-11, pay for parking on street side meter or in garage, buy zoo or movie tickets, pay for fast food and such. And they established reciprocity system in more than 20 cities so that you can use it any where in the region including Hong Kong and Macau. Now their subway system (which features on time service, almost no casualty or track fire, and beautiful stations with AC and screen doors) is also one of the first to accept WeChat payment and Apple Pay.

Comparing that with my daily commute experience in NYC or Boston, it's not unfair to say the public transit systems in these cities are "crumbling".
 
Mr. Lhota in the NYT article seems awfully confident that banks are going to start issuing contactless cards once this rolls out. I'm not so sure that'll happen considering that didn't happen when Chicago and Philly rolled out their systems.
 
Regular commuters may simply use a metro card NFC card which shouldn’t be faster than swipe. Oyster in London is very fast.

Contactless debit card and Apple Pay options are more for visitors/tourists that won’t know how to register for cards or care because they aren’t staying for long - it’s convenience to not worry how to pay for the subway,
 
Stephan_ said:
That's right, and in addition in London, we can use NFC enabled debit and credit cards, most British banks issue them as standard now.
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Portland, Oregon, US has then already too! Same as London and can tap any bank card
 

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SoggyCheese said:
This works incredibly well in London. Busses, Tubes and even the regional overland trains all take Apple Pay. It's very handy not having to show the world which pocket your wallet is in.
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My iPhone may be more valuable than everything in my wallet.

(although, yes, there's a hassle factor to having a wallet stolen).

zorinlynx said:
Do we really want people fumbling with their phones trying to Touch ID to go through the turnstile? This will slow things down quite a bit compared to the current system.
Click to expand...

In Japan where Suica is implemented, there's no need to unlock the phone if you set it up that way.
 
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I live in London, and while Apple Pay is useful, the continuing main trouble is that many people get 'season ticket' Oyster Cards paid via their work. And TfL (Transport for London) have consistently failed to develop a digital app version they said was "going to be developed" for various smartphones, that could be added to your Apple Wallet (or Google Wallet, or any other bloody digital wallet, for that matter).

This is why physical Oyster Cards prevail.

Also, many people like to budget their travel by preloading an Oyster Card, and/or control their spending using an Oyster Card, and/or need receipts. Contactless cards don't offer any of that.
 
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Can they also start accepting Apple Pay at the kiosks where you buy/refill cards? This whole “dip your card”, “enter your ZIP code” business takes forever!
 
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