Just last week, Mayor Bloomberg invited a fair amount of mockery when he insisted that there “aren’t very many panhandlers left” in the subway. The veracity of such a claim depends, we guess, on your definition of “very many,” but since everyone who rides the subway experiences panhandlers on a regular basis, it sounded a little sanguine. But Bloomberg was at it again today when, responding to a study that found that one out of every five swipes of a MetroCard fails, he countered that his MetroCard has “worked all the time” and he “can’t think of the last time” it didn’t. “You’ve got to put it in the right way,” Bloomberg said, helpfully. The truth is that even a perfect MetroCard swipe executed by a seasoned veteran doesn’t always guarantee an unlocked turnstile. It’s not even a big deal; it usually only takes a couple seconds of effort to get it to work. But there’s still no reason that Bloomberg should feel compelled to pretend that every aspect of the subway is absolutely perfect all the time.
Mayor Bloomberg Has City’s Best Metrocard [Daily Politics/NYDN]
