INWOOD — Broken MTA vending machines have left riders in the lurch on the Bx12 bus since at least last week — forcing some straphangers to either risk getting a summons by boarding without a ticket or find another stop altogether.
Riders reported that it's been nearly a week since the three vending machines that accept MetroCards and dispense receipts for commuters on the Select Bus Service line broke down at the Isham Street and Broadway stop.
The MTA said it first found out about the outages five days ago, when locals started complaining, though at least one frustrated commuter said on Wednesday that the machines had been down for two weeks. Two cash-only machines at the stop were working as of Wednesday morning.
@NYCTBus When are you going to fix the ticket machines at the SBS Bx12 at 207th street?? it has been out for almost two weeks! Ridiculous!
— Jackie (@cocokiss64) March 2, 2016
The non-functioning machines have forced riders who board at the stop to take the chance of getting fined if they decide not to pay until the following stop at 207th Street and 10th Avenue, where they can grab a receipt from a machine there.
However, a bus driver who declined to provide his name said on Wednesday that drivers were informing anyone who boarded the bus without a receipt not to get off at a subsequent stop to get one, adding that transit officers had been made aware of the issue.
"It is irritating, but it is more than that," Inwood resident Mary O'Shaughnessy said. "What happens if a rider affected is mobility-impaired?"
O'Shaughnessy, who said she called 511 on Saturday to complain, also tweeted out a video of several straphangers frustrated with the broken machines.
Is @MTA trying to entrap #Inwood #Bx12 riders by this? @TishJames @c_pichardo pic.twitter.com/SWWFBdlNNs
— Mary O'Shaughnessy (@oshma) March 1, 2016
The MTA said the problem is due to a light pole that supplies power to the machines along Broadway and 207th Street not receiving electricity.
"New York City Transit is aware of the issue and has asked Con Ed to expedite repairs," an MTA spokeswoman said
Con Edison didn't reply to a request for comment.
