Currently, the only place to refill a MetroCard east of the city line in Nassau County is at the Hemsptead Transit Center, the bus terminal right across from Hemsptead station. At the moment, that is currently the only place where one could refill a MetroCard without traveling into Queens. A member of the Long Island Bus Riders Union, Richard Clolery, claims that MetroCard Vending Machines should be available at all major LIRR stations.
With bus ridership on Long Island being what it is (not that high), I can't really see how they could possibly justify the expense of installing and maintaining MetroCard Vending Machines at outlying stations. If bus ridership on Long Island was more than it currently is, I'd say the MTA could at least entertain the notion, but at the present time, it's too much of an expense to benefit too few people for a relatively short amount of time, especially considering the days of the MetroCard are numbered, with its useful life expected to be up in 2019.
And it appears the MTA isn't really planning on adding additional MVM's on Long Island anytime soon. MTA Spokesman Kevin Ortiz told Newsday that the agency currently has no spare machines lying around and that new ones run at about $100,000 a piece.
Additionally, it's not like NICE riders have no other alternative. NICE primarily accepts cash payment for fares onboard buses, but they are one of several suburban transit agencies who accept the MetroCard as a fare payment medium for the convenience of passengers looking to not struggle with coins or those wanting to take advantage of a transfer to a New York City Subway or Bus. It's a useful alternative, but neither the MTA nor NICE should be dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars for more MVM's.
Ticket Vending Machines (both full service and daily machines) stationed at nearly every LIRR station in the system sell $25 MetroCards that NICE passengers can purchase and use. Additionally, $5 MetroCards are available for purchase on the back of round-trip tickets and $50 MetroCards can be loaded onto the backs of monthly commutation tickets (both of those cases are not subject to the $1 fee).
I think the only practical solution here would be to figure out a way to allow the LIRR Ticket Vending Machines to dispense the $5 MetroCards without requiring you to purchase a rail ticket. Many years ago I got a $4 MetroCard from the ticket agent at Hicksville. It was on the regular one-way ticket stock, but had "$4 MetroCard Use -- Not Valid for Commuter Rail Transportation" printed on the front. That would at least allow NICE riders to purchase two-trip MetroCards with credit or debit cards to hold them over without needing expensive MVM's installed all over the place.
Both $5 round-trip MetroCards and $25 MetroCards sold at ticket vending machines should not be subject to the $1 new MetroCard fee, which the LIRR and MNR tack on for all MetroCard purchases that don't include rail transportation. Charging the new MetroCard fee at places where there are no facilities to refill an existing MetroCard (so any station but Hempstead or one immediately adjacent to a subway stop) is unreasonable. The two railroads should be treated just like out of system vendors (which do not charge the $1 fee), since that is essentially what they are.
Furthermore, Long Island MetroCard lovers can get MetroCards at a number of out of system locations on Long Island (the list should be correct, and no, none of the locations are actually located in the Gulf of Guinea, there must be some sort of map error!). The MTA also offers the EasyPay MetroCard which allows you to get and automatically refill a MetroCard without every having to go to a MetroCard Vending Machine again.
And beginning this summer, NICE will be partnering with Masabi to offer mobile ticketing apps for iPhone and Android-phone wielding riders, so in just a few months, you'll be able to buy tickets on your smartphone and most riders won't even have to worry about MetroCards.
So in conclusion, considering we will be bidding farewell to the MetroCard relatively soon, and considering that ridership on the NICE buses isn't that substantial, I wouldn't expect MetroCard Vending Machines to come to a station near you anytime soon.
