98.STUDENT METRO CARDS

Given to all New York City school students allowing discounted access to the nyc buses and trains as well as all New York City high schools, both public and private. Two types of cards, one orange and one green. Orange is for Kindergarten through 6th Grade, green for 7th through 12th Grade students. All half-fare cards are also green for Kindergarten–12th Grade students. Half Fare (Card pays $1.00, student pays $1.00 in change) or Full Fare (Card pays Full Fare), depending on the distance (radius) from the students' household to the school they are attending, usually with the students who live closer getting half-fare cards.

Half fare cards only work on buses since the cards can't store value, and the payment must be made in coins on the spot for each usage, eliminating subway usage of the cards. There are 3 or 4 rides given to the student every Monday to Friday from 5:30 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. (plus a 30 minute delay) each day, except for holidays and vacations, where use of a student card is illegal and can result in a fine and/or court summons.


The holidays and vacation usage ban is not enforced electronically by the fare collection system, but sporadically enforced by the Transit Police and very rarely MTA employees (when used at a subway turnstile, an indicator lights up). Rides do not roll over. Some schools that have activities on Sundays or late at night have cards valid until 10:30 pm and on Sundays. The older blue MetroCards were not capable of the many kinds of fare options that the gold ones currently offer. The format of the magnetic stripe used by the blue MetroCard offered very little other than the standard pay-per-swipe fare. Also, gold MetroCards allow groups of people (up to four) to ride together using a single pay-per-swipe MetroCard.


Some schools and youth agencies will give out one time use cards that have a 1-4 rides on them for special events like field trips and extraordinary trips like to an afterschool program or social programs or parole officer meetings, these card can not be refilled and will not get recharged after their rides are up and are effectively disposable.
Students that attend special night school who live far from their homes are given a special student card that is valid Mon-Thurs from 1 pm to 1 am.