MTA Making It Easier To Report A Lost Or Stolen MetroCard Card

The MTA announced yesterday that straphangers whose MetroCards are lost or stolen can now file their claims online, further embracing the wonders and conveniences of the 1999.

Until now, if you lost your MetroCard somehow, you were stuck calling 511 and dealing with a combination of pre-recorded voices and wait times, a frustrating cocktail in the age where cell phones are liable to drop their service at any moment. In addition to dealing with 511, you can now log onto the MTA’s eFix website and carefully file your claim at your own convenience.

Remember, the claim process is for customers who bought 30-day unlimited rides, or the 7-day Express Bus Plus cards with a credit or debit card. If your claim is successful, the MTA refunds you the remaining balance of time from when you lost the card.

The MetroCard eFix website was launched in June 2011, and has expanded its service in functionality progressively. According to the MTA press release:

On average, MTA staff are able to rectify requests within six days for claims accepted via eFix.  From January through November of this year, the MTA has received 9,831 claims related to malfunctioning MetroCards or machines via the eFix website, which works out to 894 claims per month.

Currently, the MTA eFix website handles the following types of problems,

• Lost Or Stolen Reduced Fare MetroCard
• Select Bus Service MetroCard Fare Collector
• MetroCard Not Returned From Bus Farebox
• MetroCard Vending Machine Problem
• Transfer Problem
• Overcharged
• Balance Protection Claim

UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): The original link in this article brought you was incorrect, and was instead to make a claim for lost or stolen reduced fare cards, as opposed to unlimited passes. We apologize for the confusion.