another metrocard gripe suggestion
When you swipe your metrocard, the machine makes the same sound no matter what the outcome is. So although there are 3 possible outcomes (successful swipe, need to swipe again, no fares left on card), there is only 1 possible sound. This is definitely a confusing set-up. I can’t even tell you how many times I have seen people think they swiped successfully, only to walk into the non-moving metal bars that they thought would move to allow them through. It’s simple Pavlovian logic - people respond to sensory stimulation. As such, why doesn’t the metrocard reader emit one sound for a successful swipe, and a different sound for an unsuccessful swipe? Simple logic.
If you don’t think this is a big deal, you have obviously never seen a long line of impatient commuters waiting behind someone who tries to walk through after an unsuccessful swipe. If you want the experience, just hang out at the Canal Street A/C/E stop any weekday at around 6:30pm. And seriously, when you add up all the wasted time, it’s significant.
By the way, an amusing (but pitiful) piece of MTA trivia - none of the MTA decision makers ever ride the subway. That’s not a guess, it’s a fact told to me by a friend who knows an MTA decision maker. It’s something they joke about internally. Maybe they should be paid less as an incentive for them to actually use the system they are orchestrating.