Straphangers Rejoice!

Those for whom time has no meaning—the folks who brag about 43-minute love-making sessions when they’re really 1 1/2, who show up for work at lunch time and tell their co-workers, “You’re in early!” and generally never know if it’s December or June—good news: MetroCard-holders will now be able to enjoy their unused rides up [two years after the expiration date] has passed starting July 1. In other words, passengers will soon be able to transfer the balance on old pay-per-ride and bonus cards to new MetroCards, a huge relief to the 4,700 MetroCard holders who were [denied a refund](http://www.amny.com/news/local/am-mta0626,0,1484060.story?track=rss) between January and May after missing the one-year cut off to redeem unused funds. Why, it’s better than Wendy’s [defunct 99-Cent Value Menu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s)! The change in policy is expected to result in an annual loss to NYC Transit of $600,00, but they don’t care because that $600,000 is a gain for riders. MTA NYC Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr. says, “One of our biggest customer complaints is that our riders lose money when they misplace a MetroCard and don’t find it in time to transfer funds to a new card.” Well, now you have two whole years—so no excuses like, “Oops, I thought it was 2005.”