Editing MetroCard (section)

==Purchase options==
All new MetroCard purchases are charged a $1 fee, except to reduced-fare customers and those exchanging damaged/expired cards. This purchase fee does not apply to MetroCard refills.<ref name="mta.info"/>

===Subway station booths===
As of 2022, booths no longer handle any transactions, and station agents have been reassigned to other functions within the station.<ref name="Siff 2022 a738">{{cite web | last=Siff | first=Andrew | title=Is This the End of the Line for Token Booths in NYC Subway Stations? | website=NBC New York | date=December 9, 2022 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/is-this-the-end-of-the-line-for-token-booths-in-nyc-subway-stations/3990076/ | access-date=September 23, 2023}}</ref><ref name="ABC7 New York 2022 u814">{{cite web | title=NYC transit: MTA announces reassignment of last remaining subway token booth agents in New York City | website=ABC7 New York | date=December 8, 2022 | url=https://abc7ny.com/subways-mta-subway-token-booths-twu/12544592/ | access-date=September 23, 2023}}</ref> Prior to this booths staffed by MTA station agents (at specified time periods) are located in all MTA [[metro station|subway stations]]. Every type of MetroCard could be purchased at a booth, with the exception of the SingleRide ticket (purchased at the MetroCard Vending Machine) and MetroCards specific to other transit systems (AirTrain JFK and PATH). All booth transactions had to be in cash.<ref>{{cite web|website=MTA.info|url=http://web.mta.info/metrocard/buybooth.htm|title=buybooth}}</ref>

===MetroCard vending machines===
[[File:MetrocardMVM 2.jpg|upright|thumb|left|MetroCard Vending Machine]]

MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs) are located in all subway stations, PATH stations (with the added ability to reload [[SmartLink (smart card)|SmartLink]] cards), [[Staten Island Ferry]] terminals, [[Roosevelt Island Tramway]] stations, and the [[Hempstead Transit Center]], [[Eltingville Transit Center]], and Central Terminal at [[LaGuardia Airport]].

MVMs debuted on January 25, 1999, and are found in two models. Standard MVMs accept cash, [[credit card]]s, and [[debit card]]s, and are located in every subway station. Cash transactions are required for purchases of less than $1, and they can return up to $9 in coin change (this amount was changed in later years to $6). MVMs can also reload previously issued MetroCards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/metrocard/mvms/index.htm|title=MTA/New York City Transit – MetroCard Vending Machines|website=web.mta.info|language=en|access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> MetroCard Express Machines (MEMs) are smaller MVMs that only accept credit and ATM/debit cards.<ref name="MTA-Transit&Bus-Dec2015">{{cite web|title=Transit & Bus Committee Meeting December 2015 |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/151214_1030_Transit&Bus.pdf |website=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |access-date=January 8, 2016 |date=December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081652/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/151214_1030_Transit%26Bus.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="MTA-Bx121Yr-Oct2009">{{cite web|title=Bx12 Select Bus Service One Year Report|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/planning/sbs/docs/Bx12-SBS-OneYearReport.pdf|website=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=January 8, 2016|date=October 2009}}</ref><ref name="MTA-BronxTale-Bx12SBS">{{cite web|title=A Bronx Tale: Bus Rapid Transit in New York City|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/planning/sbs/docs/Bx12SBS-Presentation.ppt|website=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]], [[New York City Department of Transportation]]|access-date=January 8, 2016}}</ref> Both models allow customers to purchase any type of MetroCard through a [[touchscreen]]. The machines also comply with the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]], through use of [[Braille]] and a [[headphones|headset]] jack: audible commands for each menu item are provided once a headset is connected and the proper sequence is keyed through the keypad; all non-visual commands are then entered via the keypad instead of the touchscreen. The MEMs and MVMs are geared to allow a maximum of 2 transactions per day when payment is made by either credit or debit card. PATH fare vending machines (only in PATH stations) can dispense MetroCards. MetroCards that have expired can be exchanged using a MVM or MEM if done within one year of the expiration date printed on the back of the card. This is done by using the Refill option on the machine screen. Any cash value that is left on the expired card will be transferred to the new card. No fee is charged for a new MetroCard in this instance.

With the MetroCard being phased out, the vending machines were also removed from stations. In April 2025, the [[Court Square–23rd Street station]], [[21st Street–Queensbridge station]], and [[Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station]] became the first three stations in the New York City Subway system to have all their MetroCard vending machines removed.<ref>{{cite web | last=Martinez | first=Jose | title=MetroCard Holdouts Cling to Slivers of Plastic Despite Tap-and-Go OMNY-presence | website=THE CITY - NYC News | date=April 30, 2025 | url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/30/metrocard-holdouts-omny-everywhere/ | access-date=May 1, 2025}}</ref>

===MetroCard bus and van===
[[File:NYC Transit MetroCard bus 8319.jpg|thumb|MetroCard bus]]
[[File:MTA (New York) MetroCard Sales van.jpg|thumb|MetroCard sales van]]
A number of MetroCard sales vans and a MetroCard bus (a retired bus converted for sales duty) routinely travel to specific locations in [[New York City]] and [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester County]], stopping for a day (or half a day) at the announced locations. MetroCards can be purchased or refilled directly from these vehicles. Reduced-fare MetroCard applications can also be processed on the bus, including taking photographs for these cards.

The MetroCard van serves all five boroughs and Westchester County, while the MetroCard bus serves Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and parts of Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/metrocard/mcbus.htm|title=MTA/New York City Transit – MetroCard Bus and Van|work=mta.info}}</ref>

===Neighborhood MetroCard merchants===
Vendors can apply to sell MTA fare media at their business. Only presealed, prevalued cards are available, and no fee is charged. A comprehensive listing of neighborhood MetroCard merchants can be found on the MTA website.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tripplanner.mta.info/metrocardmerchants/|title=MetroCard Merchant Locator|website=tripplanner.MTA.info|access-date=September 29, 2016|archive-date=September 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925225647/http://tripplanner.mta.info/metrocardmerchants/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/metrocard/merchant_selling.htm|title=MTA/New York City Transit – Selling MetroCard|website=MTA.info|access-date=September 29, 2016}}</ref>

===Commuter railroad ticket vending machines===
Ticket vending machines (TVMs) for the MTA's two commuter railroad systems, [[Long Island Rail Road]] and [[Metro-North Railroad]], offer the option to purchase combined tickets/passes and MetroCards. A $5.50 MetroCard is available with a round-trip ticket, and a $50 MetroCard is available with a monthly pass. In addition, the machines sell separate $25 MetroCards. TVMs at [[Jamaica station]] and Penn Station sell [[AirTrain JFK]] monthly passes on the back of LIRR tickets. All cards sold from these machines are of thick paper stock, not the normal plastic.  As of May 25, 2025 Ticket Vending Machines have stopped selling MetroCards.

Beginning in 2007, with the start of the [[S89 (New York City Bus)|S89 bus]] service, a combined [[Hudson–Bergen Light Rail]] (HBLR) monthly pass and monthly MetroCard became available at [[NJ Transit]] ticket vending machines at HBLR stations.