MTA considering charging $1 "Green Fee"

[garbon]

An article on this: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/08/does_the_new_york_subway_syste.html

[The Minsky Moment]

In trains - yes, stations - no.

There are some AC units in stations but they aren't big enough to cool off the whole platform.

[garbon]

In trains - yes, stations - no.

There are some AC units in stations but they aren't big enough to cool off the whole platform.

New York mag article I linked to said that a few of the stations have "chiller units" that sound like water coolers.

[Valmy]

I hear the MTA has huge budget deficits I guess this is one of their solutions.  You put 'green' in front of something and people will pay. 

[garbon]

You put 'green' in front of something and people will pay. 

This is New York. I don't think they are going to trick anyone with that move.

And note - I'm not saying New Yorkers are unusually bright, they just tend to be a very skeptical bunch.

[MadImmortalMan]

There's a £5 deposit on a Transport For London Oyster Card, but it's refundable if you return it.

I actually still have a couple of oyster cards. Can I redeem them by mail? 

[Admiral Yi]

Why is it called Oyster Card?

[garbon]

Why is it called Oyster Card?

The Oyster brand name was agreed after a lengthy period of research managed by TranSys, the company contracted to deliver the ticketing system, and agreed by TfL. Several names were considered, and Oyster was chosen as a fresh approach that was not directly linked to transport, ticketing or London. According to Andrew McCrum, now of Appella brand name consultants, who was brought in to find a name by Saatchi and Saatchi Design (in turn contracted by TranSys), Oyster was conceived and promoted because of the metaphorical implications of security and value in the component meanings of the hard bivalve shell and the concealed pearl; the association of London and the River Thames with oysters, and the well-known travel-related idiom "the world is your oyster".

Branding agency.

[Admiral Yi]

[mongers]

There's a £5 deposit on a Transport For London Oyster Card, but it's refundable if you return it.

I actually still have a couple of oyster cards. Can I redeem them by mail? 

I returned my Oyster card for the refund and ..... it's the only time my credit card number was ever stolen, it happened within days on a hardly used card.
Oh and for some reason they crook only used it on London station train fares, co-incidence ?   


edit:
I presume this is the case as whilst they have online payment via CCs and debit cards, the refund procedure seems to be entirely manual/clerical, so I'm guessing whoever processed the paper work for a cheque to be posted, had the opportunity to see full details of the original transaction.

[Tonitrus]

Lame.

What's lame is insisting on using rechargeable plastic metrocards anyway;  DC's Metro uses rechargeable paper passes.  So, they're reusable AND biodegradable.  Makes more sense.

The obvious solution is to implant commuters with rechargeable microchips.

Or make public transport free.  After all, roads are free.

[dps]

Lame.

What's lame is insisting on using rechargeable plastic metrocards anyway;  DC's Metro uses rechargeable paper passes.  So, they're reusable AND biodegradable.  Makes more sense.

The obvious solution is to implant commuters with rechargeable microchips.

Or make public transport free.  After all, roads are free.

In theory at least, I wouldn't mind if local taxes were raised slightly to cover making public transportation actually free to the public.  In practice, since I very rarely used public transportation even when we lived in Charleston (where the local public bus service was actually pretty decent), I don't care for the idea.  Here in Goldsboro, there really isn't any public transportation to speak of anyway.  Well, there is a bus authority, but it's pretty much a joke.

[CountDeMoney]

After all, roads are free.

Don't tell Berkut that.

[DGuller]

Actually, that's an interesting question.  Why should mass transit have fares?  It's subsidized heavily anyway, why not subsidize it entirely?  Usually the answer to such questions is that you don't want over-utilization, but is anyone really going to over-utilize mass transit?

[Tonitrus]

Actually, that's an interesting question.  Why should mass transit have fares?  It's subsidized heavily anyway, why not subsidize it entirely?  Usually the answer to such questions is that you don't want over-utilization, but is anyone really going to over-utilize mass transit?

I suppose you could argue that bums would go round-and-round the city and offend the working masses that must endure mass transit, instead of just taking up sidewalk space.