Why did they get rid of the old metro tokens in New York?

morrigan

There are a couple of reasons. One reason is that the token values don't change, but if they use the Smartcards, they can increase the fare without a problem. http://www.brooklynonline.com/bkln.news/subway.xhtml Dec 18 06, 1:00 AM

Arpeggionist

In NYC they call them metrocards now, but that doesn't matter. Another reason is that tokens are rather more expensive to make than cards, and at a certain point they stopped being useful. Not unlike the American penny, which is still kept in circulation. (I remember when they discontinued the agorah here in Israel, one of which is worth 100th of a shekel. I also remember when they discontinued phone tokens here.) Dec 18 06, 6:38 AM

zbeckabee

Awesome site on the subject: http://www.nycsubway.org/tech/tokens/tokensmedals.html Dec 18 06, 8:08 AM

What-A-Mess

There was a counterfeiting problem with tokens for years. The most important reason for metrocards is the ability for planners to track riders and build a better transit system based on rider habits and needs. To create a database of fare flow. Dec 18 06, 8:52 AM