Jump to content

Unlimited Express Bus MetroCards Not Working


Recommended Posts

Hi, 

I'm trying to figure out what might be the problem with my Unlimited Express Bus cards. Mind you, I've been taking the Express Bus for 16 years, so I know which cards I have bought ($64 cards) and am well aware of how the system works. 

The last two Unlimited cards will not work in the fare box of Express Busses, but will work on local busses and at subway turnstiles. When checking the card on and MTA vending machine, they show that they are unlimited express bus cards with a week of time remaining. When put into the fare box of an express bus, there is the rejection beep and the read out says $0.00. The drivers keep telling me there is no money on the card. I agree and state that these are express bus unlimited cards, but they clearly don't believe me, though only one has insisted I pay by some other method. 

I called MTA today and they have not heard of this problem. I am sending the two rejected cards in for credit, and I bought a third to check out tomorrow. 

Has anyone else experienced these problems?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


This has happened to me.

I had a metrocard that has the Weekly Unlimited Express Bus that expires on July 11th.

I used the card previous days no issues. On morning of July 11th I used it to get to work. No issues.

I then used it at night around 9pm and the fare box said 0.00.

I didn't argue with the driver as it was the last day anyway and so I paid with a different method. (Basically lost $7.)

-------

I refilled the metrocard that I normally used on July 12th, $64.

This card failed when trying to use on the Express Bus on July 15th, again with 0.00 showing in the fare box.

The card seemed a bit worn so on the night of Jul15th I purchased a new card and Weekly Express for $65.

Tried to use and the card failed on July 16th.

----

I did not try to use it on the subway or local bus as my fear is it would work.. putting the car into use... fail on the Express Bus....

effectively I would have basically overpaid for a normal Weekly Express.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm posting again due to going through registration/validation on this site and only getting partial post through.

-----

Yes.

I've been using Unlimited Express Bus metrocard for 3+ years.

I had a card that I used on Juy 11th in the morning to go to work.

Same day going home at 9:30pm the Express Bus Fare Box showed 0.00 and I had to use another method to pay.

----

I chalked it off to malfunctioning Fare Box (It has happened in past.) Also July 11th was the last day for the "week" for my card..

I refilled the same card on July 12th, $64.

I attempted to use it for the first time on July 15th going to work. It failed.

The card is slightly worn. I chalked it up to that. And planned to mail to MTA .

I also checked at the MTA Vending machine and confirmed that 7-DAY XBUS Pass Not Yet Used.

-----

July 15th, Purchased a brand new card with weekly Unlimited Express Bus fare. $65 (1 dollar charge for new card.)

Tried to use it morning of July 16th. Same thing with 0.00 shown on fare box. Had to pay with different method.

-----

I'm not going to test it on the local bus or subway. If it works then basically I overpaid for an Unlimited Weekly Metrocard.

If I then can't use it on the Express bus.

------

So for now I'll just use pay per ride.

I really don't know how to prove the issue to the MTA.

I'll start asking each Express Bus driver whether they are seeing this issue.

Seems like only 20% people actually use Metrocard to pay and of that how many have the Unlimited?

Will see how that goes.

-----

As for this forum there is some "lengthy" process to get an account created and validated. (It is not instant after email verification.)

So that is an additional barrier to anyone actually wanting to take the time to respond here.

I tried the chat on X. (Formerly Twitter.)

They basically told me it possibly a bad card and mail it in. (yes even though a purchased a new card.)

They then referred me to the physical MTA Stone St. location that offers Metrocard support.  https://new.mta.info/contact-us/servicecenter

But I fare I'll get the same answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not good, but I'm relieved I'm not alone and that I am not going crazy. 

On the X27 this morning I used a new express bus unlimited card purchased on July 15 and it failed to work, once again showing $0.00 on the fare box. The driver said it is now a known problem. Another rider said she had the same problem with an unlimited express bus card. I was waved through to board. Hopefully this information makes it way through the system and everyone is aware and it gets a fix. 

I carried my MetroCard receipt just in case I can get by with that, but if a driver gives me a problem I'll use my OMNY - I'm not going to give a driver a hard time - nothing they can do about it, and if they don't know, they don't know. 

You are right that few of us are using MetroCards, and I cannot imagine many people are using the unlimited express option these days. I have to be in my office 5 days a week, so it makes sense for me, but we must be a much rarer species than pre-covid. 

I also reported the problem to the MTA here https://contact.mta.info/s/customer-feedback

No idea if that does any good. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you vbede1.

I generally use the X27 and X28 and happened on both.

Ahh maybe I can get free rides for a bit. :)

I will also report via that method you mentioned. The more reports the more visibilty hopefully.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would imagine this is a coding issue. The Metrocards were probably coded differently than they were and the fareboxes cannot read them as such. Therefore, they are rejecting them even though they are supposed to be valid. Either way, best course of action would be to probably mail it in. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am no technical expert on how these cards work behind the scenes, but if I swipe it at the MetroCard balance check machines in the subways it says 7-day XBus Pass and the MetroCard machines in the station also state this when I insert the card and check "info". A station agent also told me that the card was a 7-day XBus Pass and was valid.

It seems the card is read properly by all machines, with the exception of the fareboxes on express busses.

Further, I have swiped through on the subway/local bus without a problem. If the cards were improperly coded as cash cards, I would guess they should be rejected - but they are not. 

I'm just a civilian, though, so grain of salt. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same exact issue has been happening to me since July 11th (only got it to work Friday afternoon) I get my cards pre-tax through work so this is such a waste of money and very frustrating. I try to explain to the bus driver that it’s a weekly express bus pass but none has believed me yet. I just tried swiping it again without luck and the bus driver forced me to pay through other methods. Just submitted a claim through the MTA website hopefully it gets somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The exact same thing happened to me. This started on Friday.  I get my cards through WageWorks and have been using this express bus unlimited card for over two years.  I used one on Friday with issues only on the express bus. A new card was trialed on Monday with the same problem. I bought a new card from a MTA machine and it worked on Tuesday only for it to be rejected again the next day.  I was not sure if the glitch was WageWorks or MTA but it appears to be MTA. Some drivers are cool and said other people have said the same while another driver said that there was no such thing as an unlimited express bus Metrocard. I will have to cancel all new cards through WageWorks and send all cards for reimbursement through MTA. The booth operators say the card is gone and listed as an express bus unlimited and tried to claim that they were isolated issues with the bus reader, which it cannot with three days of these issues with- three different unlimited express bus cards. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Certainly not isolated as is apparent from this thread. We are all having issues with these cards and all of the problems started last week, it seems on or about July 11.

The card that I used successfully last night, was rejected this morning. The driver was aware of the problem and let me go. It's so annoying to always be on the spot like this. The driver last night looked at me like I had two heads when I told him my unlimited card had not been working, but thankfully the card did actually work. He had clearly not heard of any such problems. 

Do drivers not report such problems up the chain? Do those up the chain not disseminate the problems to everyone else? It's close to a week now with these problems and yet it is clear that not every driver knows about the problem. Seems odd to me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

I am not active on this page any more, but a number of X27, X28, X37 and X38 riders brought this issue to my attention this week and I have reached out to have the problem resolved ASAP and was told by an MTA rep. that it is being worked on as of this evening.  The issue seems to be a programming problem or a coding issue with Ulmer Park Depot, which is why so many express bus commuters from the lines I mentioned have been having this problem on those lines and not with any local buses or subways.  The main errors noted were as follows:

"READ ERROR" or ZERO balance, when in fact the Metrocard has an express bus pass on it.  

I do not have an ETA on when it will be fixed, but perhaps by tomorrow morning if any of you are traveling.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I am not active on this page any more, but a number of X27, X28, X37 and X38 riders brought this issue to my attention this week and I have reached out to have the problem resolved ASAP and was told by an MTA rep. that it is being worked on as of this evening.  The issue seems to be a programming problem or a coding issue with Ulmer Park Depot, which is why so many express bus commuters from the lines I mentioned have been having this problem on those lines and not with any local buses or subways.  The main errors noted were as follows:

"READ ERROR" or ZERO balance, when in fact the Metrocard has an express bus pass on it.  

I do not have an ETA on when it will be fixed, but perhaps by tomorrow morning if any of you are traveling.

My wife is also reporting this issue intermittently on the BxM1. Not sure if that helps

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

My wife is also reporting this issue intermittently on the BxM1. Not sure if that helps

Yes it's helpful, though the issue has primarily been on the X27, X28, X37 and X38.  I received a message this morning that the problem seems to be an issue that is not related to the actual Metrocard, but they don't seem to know exactly what the problem is at the moment, which is not good because that means that this may go on for a while before it is fixed, so for @vbede1 @Mc76nyc @abc12345 @cabby @QM1to6Ave and anyone else that uses a 7-Day Express Bus Metrocard... Management is aware of the problem and trying to figure out how to resolve it.  I would keep all of your receipts and document when you started having a problem and when it is resolved, see if you can be reimbursed if you were forced to pay $14.00 extra per day because your 7-Day express bus pass could not be read by the farebox.  

It seems that as of this morning, the issue may not be isolated to just the X27, X28, X37 and X38, but may be an issue on a wider scale, but too early to be certain.  If I were you, I would NOT start a new express bus pass until this is resolved and I will circle back here when I have more updates.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yes it's helpful, though the issue has primarily been on the X27, X28, X37 and X38.  I received a message this morning that the problem seems to be an issue that is not related to the actual Metrocard, but they don't seem to know exactly what the problem is at the moment, which is not good because that means that this may go on for a while before it is fixed, so for @vbede1 @Mc76nyc @abc12345 @cabby @QM1to6Ave and anyone else that uses a 7-Day Express Bus Metrocard... Management is aware of the problem and trying to figure out how to resolve it.  I would keep all of your receipts and document when you started having a problem and when it is resolved, see if you can be reimbursed if you were forced to pay $14.00 extra per day because your 7-Day express bus pass could not be read by the farebox.  

It seems that as of this morning, the issue may not be isolated to just the X27, X28, X37 and X38, but may be an issue on a wider scale, but too early to be certain.  If I were you, I would NOT start a new express bus pass until this is resolved and I will circle back here when I have more updates.

 

Thank you!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yes it's helpful, though the issue has primarily been on the X27, X28, X37 and X38.  I received a message this morning that the problem seems to be an issue that is not related to the actual Metrocard, but they don't seem to know exactly what the problem is at the moment, which is not good because that means that this may go on for a while before it is fixed, so for @vbede1 @Mc76nyc @abc12345 @cabby @QM1to6Ave and anyone else that uses a 7-Day Express Bus Metrocard... Management is aware of the problem and trying to figure out how to resolve it.  I would keep all of your receipts and document when you started having a problem and when it is resolved, see if you can be reimbursed if you were forced to pay $14.00 extra per day because your 7-Day express bus pass could not be read by the farebox.  

It seems that as of this morning, the issue may not be isolated to just the X27, X28, X37 and X38, but may be an issue on a wider scale, but too early to be certain.  If I were you, I would NOT start a new express bus pass until this is resolved and I will circle back here when I have more updates.

 

Thanks very much for the information and for reporting the problem VG. 

I have sent all of my cards back to the Claims Processing Center and I'll just use my OMNY until this is fixed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have somewhat of an update, though I'm not at liberty to go into details given the specifics, but it seems as if the problem has been identified and I can only hope that it is fixed sooner rather than later.  Thinking back on this, I had this very problem years ago.  My express bus pass and a number of other riders that dipped after me kept reading "READ ERROR".  Got to the City and checked it at a subway station and it worked fine, so the issue has been around for a while, but just seems to have spread more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those that sent in their MetroCards. Have you received actually received a refund? Versus a new MetroCard? 

 

I've switched to using MetroCard pay per ride since the issue was discovered.

Just noting a couple of glitches I noticed last week while using the pay per ride.

Jul 24th used pay per ride on local bus farebox shows $2.90. Went on Express Bus 1 hour later and farebox registered a Transfer(Xfer)!

Jul 25th used pay per ride in morning Express Bus farebox shows $7.00 (as expected), going home in the evening Express Bus farebox show $2.90!

 

For what its worth....  I took the last X27 bus at 8pm Sunday (7/28) into Manhattan.

Spoke to that bus driver who did acknowldge there was some issue with MetroCards recently.

He did not know specifics, like that it effect unlimited express only.

He only mentioned people called 511 and that the issue should be resolved now.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've sent in many Express Bus unlimited weekly MetroCards over the years. If there are days remaining on the card, they have always sent a check for the prorated value. If there is a full week, they replace this with another MetroCard.

 

What you saw on the farebox was exactly what I saw a few times in the weeks leading up to this problem.

I tried my new weekly this morning on an X27 and it worked. I'm not too optimistic. Two weeks ago I had a card rejected in the morning, accepted at night, and then rejected from then on. I will see tonight what happens. I'm a pro at returning MetroCards, and I'm buying off a pre-funded Transit Card, so I really don't mind experimenting a little. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Used an unlimited on the X27 last night and this morning and it worked both times. I'm cautiously optimistic that the problem is fixed at least on the buses out of Ulmer. Time well tell. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to update my previous post- I received my next batch of 7-Day Unlimited Express Bus MetroCatds from WagWorks and started to use it this past Sunday. So far- no problems with the express bus, regular bus or subway. So I hope this is a sign that the MTA fixed the glitch. Now that I know that this batch of new cards should be good, I will submit my defective MetroCards for compensation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My unlimited that I had used since last Tuesday was not accepted on Bus 2475 (X27) this morning - the last day I could use it. I told the driver it's an unlimited card that was working all week. She said that "those cards aren't working on this bus, you have to pay with debit." Lol. So I paid, what else can I do? So now I'm returning this card to get credit for one day and will start the whole trial again tomorrow. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, vbede1 said:

My unlimited that I had used since last Tuesday was not accepted on Bus 2475 (X27) this morning - the last day I could use it. I told the driver it's an unlimited card that was working all week. She said that "those cards aren't working on this bus, you have to pay with debit." Lol. So I paid, what else can I do? So now I'm returning this card to get credit for one day and will start the whole trial again tomorrow. 

You are not allowed to be told to pay debit if your card doesn't work. Next time that happens, you tell the driver you refuse to pay and s/he gives you further issues you get his run number and report it to the higher ups. 

When you report your card to get credit, make sure you also mention the driver forced you to pay with debit so you can get compensated for what you paid.

Edited by MysteriousBtrain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for the data points.

 

I would have posted earlier but had some issues logging into the forum on mobile.

 

I started using an Unlimited Express Bus Metrocard again on Thursday  Aug. 1st.

Then Friday and Monday morning. So total of 5x. This was on of X27 and X28.

So far no issues.

This was a card I had purchased on July 16th.

(Which luckily for me showed 0.00 the first time I used it back in July and I just held on to it.)

My theory is the cards were never the issue, the fareboxes were/are.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.