Getting Around

Government Works! Only 8 Weeks After Mailing in My Broken MetroCard I Got a New One

by April 3rd, 2013

As a lesbian, I carry my keys on a carabiner in my right pocket. That way I can look cool and theoretically defend myself quickly (my rape whistle is on my keys, duh). In this same vein of thought, I don’t like to carry my MetroCard in my wallet because I don’t want to pull it out every time I get on the subway. Because thieves are clamoring for my wallet. So I generally carry it in my jacket or my back pocket.

The problem with this is that my keys poked a little hole in my MetroCard and eventually it stopped working. I found this out right after I had loaded $50 on it, and my train was rapidly approaching the station. The unhelpful little guy in the box tried it a few times and then shoved some paperwork in my hands with my still unusable card, so I had missed my train AND had to buy a new one. Nu uh, city government, you ain’t getting away with this!

So I just filled out the paperwork with my address the approximate amount on the card and why it wasn’t working. Also it’s free to send it!

I had almost completely forgotten about it and dismissed it as just more paperwork lost in the NYC municipal shuffle, but I checked my mail today and viola! A brand new card with 45 bucks on it!

 

Lib Tietjen lives in and knows everything about Brooklyn.

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Have a Swipe Give a Swipe Need a Swipe Take a Swipe

by March 5th, 2013

A group called Swipe Back! is encouraging unlimited metrocard users to swipe people into the subway on their way out to boycott fare increases.

A lot of people with ulimited metrocards already swipe strangers in every day because it’s a Good and Nice Thing To Do that costs $0 and is totally legal (it’s only illegal if you charge money for a swipe).

I do wish there was an easier way to show that you’re willing to do it, though. Swipe Back! has made buttons, but I was thinking more like a very long bright blue curly ribbon attached to your card. A party hat. A golden scarf. A secret hand signal. A tiny turtle pin on your lapel. Purple shoes. Patting your head and rubbing your belly simultaneously while exiting the subway. Or the old standby, trying to make eye contact with people loitering by the exits, in hopes they pick up on what I’m putting down and … ask me to swipe them in. (This has worked one time.)

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Schwarzfahren (Or: Exploits in Fare Evasion While Living in Berlin)

by February 25th, 2013

At first, traveling illegally is electrifying; even the dullest journeys become thrilling, suspenseful, dangerous.

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I Give Strangers Rides, They Give Me Money

by February 15th, 2013

I drive people around and it’s working out fine.

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Why I Belong to a Car Share Program

by February 8th, 2013

The car sharing model is perfect for my situation. I don’t like driving, so I don’t miss it. I live in the urban core of a small, pedestrian-friendly city (Halifax, Nova Scotia). I don’t have kids to travel with, and I don’t have to leave the city very often.

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How to Reduce the Fine on a $450 Parking Ticket

by February 1st, 2013

When the meeting is over, I return to move my car (there’s a one-hour parking limit, of course), and see two gigantic disability signs on both sides of my car, pointing directly to it. I’m screwed—there’s a ticket on my windshield.

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So Long, Sedan; Hello, Bus

by January 23rd, 2013

I’m not suggesting everyone sell their Buick for a bus pass, or that buses are a far superior way of traveling. But once upon a time, I had to sell my car to pay off some traffic tickets and ended up having to rely on Kansas City’s public transportation system to get around.

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Doing the Test-Drive at Home

by January 23rd, 2013

Netflix brought movies to your house, and a Seattle-based startup named TRED would like to bring cars you’re interested in buying to your house for you to test-drive, to see how it fits in your garage, etc. This is fine! But is it really necessary? It seems to solve a non-problem, which is having to go to a dealership to test out a car and see if you like it, but I suppose if you don’t have a ride to get to a dealership in the first place, this could be your answer.

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My Mother Stole My Car And Got Rid of It

by January 11th, 2013

“You’ll notice your car is not in the driveway,” my mother said, as soon as my dad left.

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Quick Chat: Car Buying

by January 7th, 2013

Max: Mike Dang—quick Q. Do you know any trusty source about buying cars?

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