can you ask someone to swipe you through in any nyc subway turnstile?

[dwang32]

if you don't have enough to pay
for the nyc subway fare and ask
someone who is coming out from the
turnstiles, is that legal?

will you get a ticket by the nyc transit police for that?

[RonaldoG]

if you don't have enough to pay
for the nyc subway fare and ask
someone who is coming out from the
turnstiles, is that legal?

will you get a ticket by the nyc transit police for that?

I lived in NYC for about 4 years, and moved upstate about 4 years ago. When I lived there, the cost of a one-way-ride train ticket was $2.

From time to time, there would be a guy standing around in the entrance of the subway station, usually by the Metrocard vending machines. They would watch and approach you if they saw you pull $2 out of your pocket, and/or walked up to a Metrocard vending machine, and say something like, "You need a one-way? I'll swipe you through."

They'd swipe their Metrocard at the turnstile for you, then ask for $2. It's a clever scheme, really- they make money, you pay the same amount you would anyway, but the MTA gets shafted.

A 7-day unlimited Metrocard cost $21 then, and you could swipe your card every 18 minutes. At that rate, you could swipe 3 people through per hour, $2x3= $6 per hour. If you swiped 3 people through per hour, for 4 hours, you'd make $24- more than the cost of the 7-day unlimited card.

A lot of people in welfare work programs would pull this scam, because they would give you free Metrocards, to get to and from the work program each day. After a week or so of perfect attendance, they would give you a 7-day unlimited ride Metrocard, so you had transportation to find, apply at, or interview with potential employers. I believe that after a while you would get a monthly unlimited Metrocard, which normally cost about $80.

I'm 95% sure that this is illegal, as you are stealing from the MTA. While I've seen "Swipers" being talked to, or kicked out of the station by station authorities and police, I've never seen a "swipee" get in trouble for it, or either person be arrested. I'm not sure what the rules and prices are nowadays, though.

"if you don't have enough to pay
for the nyc subway fare and ask
someone who is coming out from the
turnstiles, is that legal?

will you get a ticket by the nyc transit police for that?"

As for this question, I guess asking someone exiting a station for money for train fare could be considered panhandling, or harassment. If a police officer caught you doing so, you'd likely get reprimanded, and asked to leave that station, but if you made a big scene about it, being loud, aggressive, intoxicated, etc., then you'd probably have the transit police or nearby NYPD officers called to arrest you for public disturbance, (attempted) theft, panhandling, harassment, or something like that.