On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 11:07:36 PM UTC-5, Peter T. Daniels wrote:   
   >    
   > The news reports are saying you get an 11% discount on each $5.50 purchase,    
   > which doesn't sound like it's right.   
          
         
   You're correct: they're phrasing it badly. MTA adds extra to the pay-per-ride   
   card when you (re)fill it, which they call a bonus. There's a minimum purchase   
   to get that bonus--you don't get anything if you add, say, 65 cents to "make   
   it come out even."    
   The same amount is deducted from the card for each ride, in any event.   
          
   Does it make sense to increase the fare if you're going to give away more in   
   bonuses? Yes, if you can fool the public into putting as much money as   
   possible onto those Metrocards, giving the MTA an enormous cash float every   
   day. If you buy a monthly card,   
    they have a good chunk of your money for three weeks before providing any   
   service for it. Even so, if you travel a lot, a monthly card is the best way   
   to go, because it can bring your average cost per trip way down.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)