

New York City's MTA Exposed (2005) [pdf] - potomak
https://events.ccc.de/congress/2005/fahrplan/attachments/594-paper_MagneticStripeTechnology2.pdf

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acomjean
"Interestingly enough, track 12 does not only contain information pertaining
to the last use, but also to the use before that."

This might explain why the system sometimes asks you to "Swipe again" when
going through the turnstiles. maybe the write failed?

In the 90s the system had tokens. Someone figured out a cheap way to game the
system using inexpensive South American coins..

[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19951206&id=...](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19951206&id=XVwxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hKYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2338,4467511&hl=en)

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bosdev
Wouldn't the most likely reason to "Swipe again" be that the read failed?

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gcr
The display sometimes reads "Swipe Again At This Turnstile," which might imply
that data corruption would occur if you swiped elsewhere...

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ceras
I once saw that when using a pay-per-ride metrocard and swiped at a different
turnstile. I ended up having two rides deducted instead of just one, so I lost
a swipe.

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luisrudge
MTA cards are terrible. So is MTA's customer service. I lost $60 (2 7-Day
Unlimited cards) because the two cards were demagnetized. They weren't next to
each other, but both were kept close to cellphones. I went to the MTA booth
and they staff said to mail the cards so I can get a refund. This may work for
NYC residents, but foreign tourists will never see that money again. The card
and system is so bad, that one may actually think they want this to be bad so
they can profit more.

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santaclaus
I'm not sure what the booth staff are even there for. Every time I've had an
issue when visiting NYC, they tell me to mail stuff to the MTA. Machine ate
your twenty dollar bill? Write a letter. Card not swiping? Write a letter.

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jrockway
Giving directions, help with non-working cards (I've had them fix a card
before), etc. The usual agent at High St. also says hello to me when I'm
coming home at 2:30 in the morning.

Maybe they can't fix every problem, but overall, not bad to have around.

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cmurf
The tone the turnstile makes when it successfully reads the card, and fails to
read the card, are the same. Don't be blind!

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fennecfoxen
The tone _lasts for infetesimally longer_ when it fails to read the card. Good
luck telling the difference, even if you're blind.

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cbhl
What would happen if you used your own blank plastic magnetic card? Would it
be more durable? Would the vending machines refuse to load your fare onto
them?

(I imagine the MTA doesn't have enough money for upkeep, let alone upgrading
the turnstiles with NFC readers.)

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ceras
The MTA has planned to upgrade to a tap-to-pay system in its 2015-2019 capital
program, but that budget has a huge shortfall. Regardless, last I heard the
metro cards are getting too costly to maintain so the rollout may still
happen.

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ChuckMcM
Does anyone know if the original requirements documents for these systems was
ever published or archived?

