Public Employee Press

Premium Annual MetroCard is back for members

After consulting with DC 37, the city has restored the popular Premium Annual MetroCard as an option for its transit benefit.

Members were outraged in 2010 when the Office of Payroll Administration canceled the MetroCard, which is more convenient than the transit program's debit card. MetroCard is issued once a year and automatically refilled through payroll deductions, while the debit card must be refilled periodically at a vending machine.

"Many members contacted us about how they like the MetroCard much more than the debit cards, and we took their concerns to the city," said Senior Assistant Director Moira Dolan of the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept. "This was a long time coming, but we are pleased that the city has finally acted on employees' concerns."

The enrollment period for the MetroCard program began Nov. 3 and is open continuously. You must enroll or switch plans by the 10th of the month for a card to start on the 1st of the next month.

With the Premium Annual MetroCard, participants enjoy unlimited rides on Metropolitan Transportation Authority subways and local buses for 12 months. Participants save because they pay for the benefit through a monthly pretax deduction from their paychecks.

Basically, the program is on autopilot, though participants can suspend their account during vacations, or for other reasons. The debit card will remain as an option.

DC 37 won the TransitChek benefit through contract talks in 1999. Go to www.nyc.gov/payroll for more information about the benefit.

The MetroCard was dropped after the city hired a new contractor, Wagesworks, in 2010.