Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #132372  by quadrock
 
Hey all...just a quick question about using coins/bills for PATH fare payment. I checked the PANYNJ site and ran a search but couldn't find a clear answer. My question is can I still use coins or bills to pay the fare if I don't buy a QuickCard. If yes, what denominations/types of coins are accepted in the turnstiles? Thanks in advance.

 #132378  by Irish Chieftain
 
About 10 to 20 percent of turnstiles at PATH stations accept cash fare; dollar bills are accepted and all coins (except pennies IIRC). Quickcards accepted at all stations; Metrocard (New York MTA) accepted at select stations.

 #132406  by quadrock
 
Ok great thanks. I was just asking because I'm planning on taking a trip from Newark and there's no point in me buying a 20-trip card if I can pay cash.

 #132428  by Allan
 
quadrock wrote:Ok great thanks. I was just asking because I'm planning on taking a trip from Newark and there's no point in me buying a 20-trip card if I can pay cash.
PATH machines (not the NJT machines) do have a $3.00 round trip Quickcard but cash is just as good.

 #132450  by quadrock
 
There are Path machines at Newark Penn and 33rd street, right? Because if there are I'll just get the card since it would be more convenient for me to just re-fill the card whenever I need to.

 #132692  by Allan
 
quadrock wrote:There are Path machines at Newark Penn and 33rd street, right? Because if there are I'll just get the card since it would be more convenient for me to just re-fill the card whenever I need to.
PATH QuickCards are not like MetroCards - they cannot be refilled. When the last fare on a QuickCard is used the turnstile will keep it. You will see a message "Card Captured" on the turnstile screen. If you have ever wondered why the platforms are not littered with used up QuickCards that is the reason.

Later this year when the PA introduces a smart card called "SmartLink", you will be able to refill it.

I advise against using the MetroCard to pay the PATH fare if you use the NYC Subway quite a bit. At the present time only the pay per ride (PPR) MetroCard is accepted. If one were to buy a $10 PPR MetroCard you get 6 rides on the subway equalling $1.67 per ride vs the actual cost of $2.00. If you use it on PATH the turnstile deducts the full $1.50. Plus there are no transfer privileges at all. Work it out mathematically and you will see that you lose on the deal.

I use the subway and PATH daily and would never use the MetroCard to pay for both.

 #132741  by Tommy Meehan
 
what's annoying to me about using a pay-per-ride MetroCard on PATH is you wind up with an odd amount left on your card. Last time it happened I decided to ask an NYCT station clerk at the Penn Station A-B-E booth if she could "even it out" for me. She said that the difficulty is, if you add money in an amount above $10.00 the discount kicks in, making it trickier to calculate. I think I had $3.50 on the card and she determined if she added $10.40 it would make my card value an even $16.00. Something like that, it worked anyway. Tommy

 #132806  by Irish Chieftain
 
Allan wrote:PATH QuickCards are not like MetroCards - they cannot be refilled. When the last fare on a QuickCard is used the turnstile will keep it. You will see a message "Card Captured" on the turnstile screen. If you have ever wondered why the platforms are not littered with used up QuickCards that is the reason
Washington Metro and BART do it the same way, but their message IIRC is "Card Retained". Certainly does keep the stations tidy of used fare cards.

 #132946  by Rich T
 
NJ Transit machines at Journal Square and Hoboken dispense Path cards that can be purchased by credit card; not sure about all NJT locations.

 #133021  by Allan
 
Only the 10, 20 or 40 trip cards can be purchased. They don't have the $3.00 or single-trip card.

 #133033  by Tommy Meehan
 
You know what they need - and I'm very surprised they don't have it - a single-trip card with connection to HBLR. But the smartcards are coming, right?

The machines at WTC do have round-trip cards. But not single ride.

The Port Authority runs a good service, but does anyone besides me find them somewhat arrogant and paternalistic towards riders? A 'Please keep quiet...we know what's best for you' attitude? (Please note I said "somewhat") Tommy

 #133105  by Allan
 
A nice idea but you could never get the PA and NJT to agree on it. True they cross-honor PATH and NJT tickets but that is only when NJT has problems getting trains into/out of NYC. It would take a lot of wheeling and dealing to get them to do a cross-honor arrangement on a regular basis.

They can't even work out a deal with the MTA to create PATH/NYCT transfers or to allow MTA Unlimited cards to work on PATH.

The Port Authority is a very greedy agency whose main focus is New Jersey. JFK is kept as it is so that Newark will become the main area international faciltity.

And you are 100% right about their attitude. They have a "don't fix things unless you have to" approach to things. And when they fix something, it doesn't stay fixed. One escalator at Pavonia has been broken for nearly 2 months and another sometimes works.

 #133365  by arrow
 
The Port Authority is a very greedy agency whose main focus is New Jersey.
How can you back that up? The Port Authority does a lot for both New York and New Jersey. This is the first time I've heard someone say something like that.

 #133424  by F40
 
My question is can I still use coins or bills to pay the fare if I don't buy a QuickCard. If yes, what denominations/types of coins are accepted in the turnstiles? Thanks in advance.
All coins (except pennies, and including the dollar coin) are accepted. I think all denominations up to $20 are accepted, but check with someone on that because you'll get a whole bagful of change with it. Yes, the PATH QuickCard machines does have 2 trip QuickCards (which are at NWK, HOB, and elsewhere), which I recommend you get if you can. Certainly better than waiting in a line with people busy fumbling for change.

One thing I advise is that if you're a 'hit & miss' PATH rider be aware of how many trips you have left if you buy a 20 or 40 trip card. After these expire, there's no way to get the remaining rides back. Much less, PATH doesn't even have booths to negotiate your expired card, as you can with the NYC Subway.

 #133431  by Terry Kennedy
 
F40 wrote:Much less, PATH doesn't even have booths to negotiate your expired card, as you can with the NYC Subway.
Actually, in most cases you can get a card replaced on-site. You just need to be at a station where many people enter the system during rush hour (a NJ station in the AM rush, a NY station in the PM rush). Look for a PATH customer service rep wearing a red jacket. They will call in your card serial number on the assistance phone and issue you a new card on the spot, as long as the serial number is legible (so they can determine the number of trips left).

If you ride only during off-peak hours, use the customer assistance phone in the station. Depending on the type of problem, you may need to send them the old card, but for things like "the turnstile ate my money and won't let me in", they can just buzz you in. And when some wiseguy loaded the ticket vending machine w/ Danish Kroner instead of dollar coins, they just mailed me a card and told me to keep the funny money.