The $1 fee imposed by the MTA to encourage riders to reuse their MetroCards is producing an unexpected amount of extra revenue for the transit agency.
The so-called “green” MetroCard was supposed to reduce the number of used MetroCards that end up in the garbage, but a transit executive said last week that more riders are paying the $1 fee for a new card than expected, The Daily News reports.
If the fee continues to produce extra cash for the MTA, the agency will exceed the $20 million in new revenues and savings that it anticipated when drafting the budget, the executive said.
The $1 surcharge, imposed in March, was expected to generate an estimated $18 million in revenue this year. Printing fewer cards and reducing cleanup costs was expected to save an additional $2 million.
The extra revenue will likely put pressure on the agency to make system improvements and service restorations, the News reports.
