page_title: PATH (rail system)
section_title: MetroCard
hierarchical_section_title: PATH (rail system) / Fares / Current payment methods / MetroCard
caption_attribution_description: English: Temporary World Trade Center PATH station.
context_page_description: Port Authority Trans-Hudson is a 13.8-mile rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, and Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. PATH trains run around the clock year round; four routes serving 13 stations operate during the daytime on weekdays, while two routes operate during weekends, late nights, and holidays. Its tracks cross the Hudson River through century-old cast iron tubes that rest on the river bottom under a thin layer of silt. It operates as a deep-level subway in Manhattan and the Jersey City/Hoboken riverfront; from Grove Street in Jersey City to Newark, trains run in open cuts, at grade level, and on elevated track.
  The routes of the PATH system were originally operated by the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, built to link New Jersey's Hudson Waterfront with New York City. The system began operations in 1908 and was fully built out in 1911. Three stations have since closed; two others were re-located after a re-alignment of the western terminus.
context_section_description: PATH fare payment may also be made using single-ride, two-trip, and pay-per-ride MetroCards, the standard farecard of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card, like the QuickCard. PATH riders paying their fare using MetroCard insert the card into a slot at the front of the turnstile, which reads the card and presents the MetroCard to the rider at a slot on the top of the same turnstile. Other types of MetroCards, including unlimited-ride MetroCards, are not accepted on PATH.
  Plans for using the MetroCard on PATH date to 1996, when the Port Authority and MTA first considered a unified fare system. At the time, the MetroCard was still being rolled out on the MTA system, and more than 80% of PATH riders transferred to other modes of transportation at some point in their trip. In November 2003, the Port Authority announced that the MetroCard would be allowed for use on PATH starting the following year. The Port Authority started implementing the MetroCard on PATH in 2005, installing new fare collection turnstiles at all PATH stations. These turnstiles allowed passengers to pay their fare with a PATH QuickCard or an MTA Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. MetroCard vending machines are located at all PATH stations. The machines sell Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards; allow riders to refill SmartLink cards; and sell Single Ride PATH tickets for use only on the PATH system. There are two types of MetroCard vending machines: large machines, which sell both MetroCards and SmartLinks and accept cash, credit cards, and transit benefits cards; and small machines, which do not accept cash or sell PATH single-ride tickets but otherwise perform the same functions as the large vending machines.
  In 2010, PATH introduced a $4 two-trip card using the standard MetroCard form. All PATH stations, except for the uptown platforms at 14th and 23rd Streets, contain blue vending machines which sell this card. The front of the card is the standard MetroCard (gold and blue) but on the reverse it has the text "PATH 2-Trip Card", "Valid for two (2) PATH trips only" and "No refills on this card". The user must dispose of the card after the trips are used up because the turnstiles do not keep (or capture) the card as was done with the discontinued QuickCard.
caption: SmartLink turnstiles at the WTC station accept both PATH SmartLink cards and MTA MetroCards.
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