Your Guide to the New MTA Subway Fare Increase

You knew it was coming, but it still hurts to know that your commute just got a little bit more expensive. Although the MTA base fare remains at $2, the cost of a monthly MetroCard just went up to $81 ($5 increase), the cost of a weekly MetroCard increased to $25 (a $1 hike), and a new 14-day MetroCard now costs $47.

MetroCard bonuses have also been reduced. Instead of getting a $2 bonus on a $10 MetroCard, riders now get $1.50. Riders also now get just a 15 percent bonus on any amount of $7 or more added to a MetroCard.

For those of us who are not math geniuses, this could pose a problem. Luckily, a clever reader named Steveo created a handy, dandy online MetroCard Bonus Calculator. Just enter your current balance and the maximum you want to add to the card and the calculator will tell you precisely how much to add to keep your balance evenly divisible by $2.00.

After all, the last thing that we cranky subway riders want to do this week is wait in line at the MetroCard vending machines behind idiots counting on their fingers and toes to try to figure it out.