Technology
Replacing mechanical turnstiles that accepted transit tokens ('good for one fare') vended from booths, a new generation of "smart" turnstiles designed to use electronic fare media and discourage fare evasion were installed. The turnstiles and supporting computer systems, designed by Cubic Transportation Systems, featured many innovations. Credit-card sized magnetic farecards (MetroCard) are sold at self-service MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs). Passengers are required to swipe their MetroCard to enter to the subway. During a swipe, the MetroCard is read, re-written to, then check-read to verify correct encoding. The read/write innovation allows stored-value fares to be processed and eligibility for transfers automatically determined, completely replacing tokens and paper transfers.
Each MetroCard stored value card is assigned a unique, permanent ten-digit serial number when it is manufactured. The value is stored magnetically on the card itself, while the card's transaction history is held centrally in the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) Database. When a card is purchased and fares are loaded onto it, the MetroCard Vending Machine or station agent's computer stores the amount of the purchase onto the card and updates the database, identifying the card by its serial number. Whenever the card is swiped at a turnstile, the value of the card is read, the new value is written, the customer is let through, and then the central database is updated with the new transaction as soon as possible. Cards are not validated in real time against the database when swiped to pay the fare. The AFC Database is necessary to maintain transaction records to track a card if needed. It has actually been used to acquit criminal suspects by placing them away from the scene of a crime. The database also stores a list of MetroCards that have been invalidated for various reasons (such as lost or stolen student or unlimited monthly cards), and it distributes the list to turnstiles in order to deny access to a revoked card.
The older blue MetroCards were not capable of the many kinds of fare options that the gold ones currently offer. The format of the magnetic stripe used by the blue MetroCard offered very little other than the standard pay-per-swipe fare. Also, gold MetroCards allow groups of people (up to four) to ride together using a single pay-per-swipe MetroCard. The gold MetroCard keeps track of the number of swipes at a location in order to allow those same number of people to transfer at a subsequent location, if applicable. The MetroCard system was designed to ensure backward compatibility, which allowed a smooth transition from the blue format to gold.
There are special kinds of MetroCards issued for students, senior citizens, the disabled, and transit employees. These cards offer discounted rides and usually have the picture of the intended patron on the card to minimize fraudulent use. Students receive cards corresponding to their grade level and the distance they live from the school. Students from 6th to 12th grade may receive half-fare cards (Orange with White) and full fare cards (Green with white). These MetroCards allow them to commute to and from school between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM. Student MetroCards are either full-fare, which can be used up to three times daily for the subway or bus; or half fare, which can only be used for buses. Students are given Metrocards based on their grade level (K-2, 3-6, and 7-12). Student MetroCards do not have photo identification.
MetroCards for the disabled have exclusive rights to the special gates used for wheelchair access in some stations. This eliminates the need for the token booth clerk to have to manually open the gate whenever a disabled person requires entry. Metrocards for seniors allow them to ride at a half fare on all buses and subways except for express buses going in the peak direction from 6-10AM, and 3-7PM.
Both Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road offer combined ticket/MetroCard options. One side of the card displays the railroad ticket or monthly/weekly pass, and the other side is the MetroCard. These cards are made of laminated paper, which is different from SingleTicket/Bus Transfer paper Metrocards, and different from plastic ones.
Several transfers on the subway system, which involve leaving fare control are free with a MetroCard (other than a SingleRide card), and are specified in maps and signs.
The AFC system consists of approximately 3,300 turnstiles, 4,500 bus fareboxes, 785 MetroCard readers (MRMs), 750 token booth terminals, 1,645 MVMs, 607 MetroCard Express Machines (MEMs), 476 High Entrance-Exit Turnstiles (HEETs), and Autonomous Farecard Access System (AFAS) gates at 49 stations. 460 station controllers and 30 depot computers facilitate communication amongst AFC devices. MetroCard is the form of payment for New York City Subway, New York City Bus (including routes operated by Atlantic Express under contract), MTA Bus Company, Nassau Inter-County Express, Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), the Roosevelt Island Tram, AirTrain JFK, and Westchester County's Bee-Line.
Read more about this topic: MetroCard (New York City)
Famous quotes containing the word technology:
“If we had a reliable way to label our toys good and bad, it would be easy to regulate technology wisely. But we can rarely see far enough ahead to know which road leads to damnation. Whoever concerns himself with big technology, either to push it forward or to stop it, is gambling in human lives.”
—Freeman Dyson (b. 1923)
“Our technology forces us to live mythically, but we continue to think fragmentarily, and on single, separate planes.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“Technology is not an image of the world but a way of operating on reality. The nihilism of technology lies not only in the fact that it is the most perfect expression of the will to power ... but also in the fact that it lacks meaning.”
—Octavio Paz (b. 1914)