MTA Reschedules Cash-Only Upgrade Window for Saturday
After last week’s public outcry over the MTA’s plans to go cash only for the weekend while upgrading their vending machine’s credit-card systems led to a quick reversal and delay, the organization has now announced the new dates for the upgrade: this coming Saturday, February, 10.
Once again taking to Twitter to alert their 837k followers last night, the @NYCTSubway account let riders know that MTA vending machines will be cash-only from 12:01 AM to 6:00 AM on Saturday.
This new six-hour time frame manages to save 47 hours over the last estimate for the upgrade. Additionally, the MTA has promised to have employees on hand to assist those weekend riders who forget cash. Check out their announcement below:
Due to a system software upgrade, MetroCard machines will accept cash only from 12:01AM to 6AM on Saturday, Feb. 10. Personnel will be on-hand in stations to assist customers without cash, if necessary, and anyone may call 511 or use a Help Point w/any questions.
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) February 5, 2018
Once again, the MTA threaded in an additional tweet to alert customers to future upgrades that would do away with MetroCards in favor of linking accounts directly to smartphones and banks. In this draft of the tweet, however, they made sure to emphasize an additional sentence: Cash will always be an option.
Over the next few years, we’re phasing out the MetroCard & introducing state of the art technology linked directly to smartphones & cards. Cash will always be an option. In the meantime, sign up for EasyPayXpress to skip the lines and have your MetroCard automatically refilled.
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) February 5, 2018
Hopefully, everything goes smoothly this weekend, though you may be well advised to refill your MetroCard in advance of the six-hour upgrade window—’cause if there’s anything you can rely on with the MTA, it’s delays.