Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed
Unlimited rides are being phased out in favor of the OMNY, and many paying passengers have already moved away from Unlimiteds.
Here's my theory of what's going on. Unlimited cards were a sunk cost. People with unlimited cards were generous in helping others evade the fare by swiping them into the subway system as they exited. If you rode the subway anytime prior to 2020, you saw people at turnstiles asking for swipes on a daily basis.
But with the fare structure change under OMNY, there are fewer unlimited cards floating around and people are far less willing to pay an extra fare for others (I can count on one hand how many times I've been asked to do that in the past two years). This was true even before the introduction of OMNY, as people with cash MetroCards were not likely to give away swipes, but people with unlimited MetroCards were often willing to give them away. The MTA couldn't complain about fare evaders borrowing swipes before, because who is the MTA to tell me that I can't donate swipes to other people? So they just got rid of it and converted many of those swipe borrowers into "fare evaders".
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Sorry, I don't buy this theory at all:
1. Each swipe only allows one person in at a time. If there were as many freeloaders pre-pandemic as you imply, you would have seen a horde of people at the turnstiles asking for swipes before. But you didn't because most riders knew the time spent for a chance (not even a guarantee) to get swiped in wasn't worth it.
2. I'm not sure how what percentage of commuters had unlimited cards pre-pandemic, but I doubt most unlimited cardholders were generous in swiping people in. Do you really think New Yorkers who paid a hard-earned $127 a month are going to be kind enough to swipe in freeloaders en-masse? Get outta here.
Whereas nowadays, instead of a few individuals hoping to get swiped in one-by-one, you have hordes of people waiting at the gate. And there is always someone who opens the gate as they exit. There really is no comparison.
Let's face it: people are sheep. Pre-pandemic, they never entered through the gate because it was frowned upon in society, so most other people never did it. But freeloading rides has been acceptable post-pandemic (on bus and subway), so people who would have never done it before are now emboldened because so many other people are entering for free.
The only time I'd open a gate for a freeloader is so I don't get targeted by that freeloader later on after someone else inevitably opens the gate for them.
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