David of Broadway wrote:
Stephen Farrow wrote:
Arthur Figgis wrote:

I found Budapest airport a bit rude, as the transport information desk
would only sell transport+museum passes to us phrasebook-wielding
tourists, but not the equivalent of a travel card, even though we knew
what to ask for. They just don't sell 'em. There was some sort of
ticket machine, but it was OOU.

At one point, at LaGuardia airport in New York, it was possible to buy
an MTA "fun pass" (day pass) only from *one* newsstand - which was
helpfully located on the departures level, rather than in arrivals.
I've no idea whether or not this is still the case.

When was this? I doubt it's still the case, although I don't know for
sure.

About three years ago.


But ever since the price jumped from $4 to $7, the Fun Pass has been an
incredibly bad deal for nearly everyone. What most people want is a $10
pay-per-ride MetroCard; longer-term tourists might opt for a $24 7-day
unlimited MetroCard.

Which is what I've done every time since. That trip, though, I needed a
one-day pass - I was arriving in the morning (from Toronto), meeting a
friend in Midtown, heading over to Lincoln Center to do some research at
the Performing Arts Library, then heading to Penn Station in the evening
to catch a train out to Hofstra University, where I was going to a
conference. And, of course, I arrived without exact change for the bus,
and a cab to Manhattan was beyond my graduate student budget. It was
only by asking around in the terminal that I got directed to the one
newsstand that sold the Fun Pass.

Unfortunately, the online MetroCard sales outlet through CitySearch shut
down in 2001 and has yet to be replaced, so tourists can't buy
MetroCards before leaving home.

It's a problem. Cash fares are accepted on buses (coins only, and no
change is provided), but the free bus-subway transfer is only available
with MetroCard, and most people who ride the bus from LGA need to
transfer to the subway. (LGA does not have direct subway service.)

Mind you, Toronto airport isn't really any better. There's the very
overpriced Pacific Western bus downtown, which is fairly easy to find
from the arrivals level of each terminal. There's a very good TTC bus
service to the subway, but you need exact change or metropass or a
token, and as far as I know none of the newsstands in any of the three
terminals sell tokens or tickets (or TTC day passes, which are also
valid), despite the fact that convenience stores all over the city are
set up to sell TTC tickets and passes.

--

Stephen

I know all the games... pin the thing on the thing... pass the thing...