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To welcome spring, the MTA is raising the subway fares this Sunday, as they will continue to every two years. There's sadly nothing we can do about it, but you can try to squeeze in a lower subway fare for as long as humanly possible.
Here's what you need to know to get the most bang for your back out of 7-day or 30-day unlimited MetroCards: You must purchase them before March 22, but the MTA is allowing for a small grace period for you to use them or lose them at the lower rate. Simply put: You MUST activate cards purchased at the lower rate by March 29. 7-day cards will be good through April 4th (seven days after March 29) and 30-day cards will be good through April 27 (30 days after March 29). After that, those card values are gone like Cinderella at midnight. And you'll be stuck with the higher fares just like everybody else.
Here's a refresher on all the new fare hikes if you need it:
Old base: $2.50
New base: $2.75
Old bonus: 5% with $5 purchase
New bonus: 11% with $5.50 purchase
Old effective fare with bonus: $2.38
New effective fare with bonus: $2.48
Old single ride ticket: $2.75
New single ride ticket: $3.00
Old 30-day unlimited MetroCard: $112
New 30-day unlimited MetroCard: $116
Old 7-day Metrocard: $30
New 7-day Metrocard: $31
Old express bus (cash): $6.00
New express bus (cash): $6.50
Old 7-day express bus plus MetroCard: $55.00
New 7-day express bus plus MetroCard: $57.25
Old Access-a-Ride: $2.50
New Access-a-Ride: $2.75