2nd Avenue Saga comments on the brinkmanship associated with the $100 fare card. Go read:

The psychology of the $100 MetroCard :: Second Ave. Sagas | A New York City Subway Blog

Years ago, Marty Wachs said that the out-of-pocket costs weren’t the equity issue in transit: the equity issue was service quality. We’re now at a point that I don’t think we can take cost out of our list of worries about transit and social equity.