A No-Swipe MetroCard? It's About Time

Outgoing MTA chief says subway E-ZPass in the works

Imagine never missing another subway while others are feverishly shoveling through their bags in a frantic search for their subway card.

The MTA is busy at work developing a pass that you won't have to swipe at the turnstiles, outgoing MTA head Elliot Sander told The New York Post.

"We're looking to have a contactless device instead of a MetroCard. Right now, when you go onto the buses, you see lines of people waiting to swipe the MetroCard," said Sander, whose tenure ends today.

Better still, Sandler says the transit authority envisions a day when your swipeless MetroCard is integrated with the E-ZPass that pays your bridge, tunnel and road tolls.

Sandler says the new passes could be in use as soon as 2011. But before you celebrate, remember that these are the same people who still haven't managed to master GPS technology.

Sandler's departure was hastened by Gov. David Paterson's "widespread cleanup and clean-out" of the MTA in the wake of all the recent budget fiascoes.

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