This ain't Singapore, now...it's NYC. You can (and always will) be able to buy a Metrocard with cash at the remaining token booths. And while I'd bet many have cameras (for anti-token booth-type crime, including setting the booth on fire), I really doubt they'd be able to accurately track an individual that didn't want to be tracked. Unlike, say Hong Kong, you don't swipe your card to leave the system...you only swipe upon entry. And you can have as many cards as you want.
And then, there are still many unattended exit points that have no cameras (and in many of those remote points, the installation of cameras would eventually be met with graffitti or vandalism). The NYC subway system is just too big to monitor.
Which leads me to a mini-rant. NYC has been described as "statist" by some on this list, but despite the laws and whatnot, in many ways its fairly anarchic out here. Cops tend to leave you alone unless you're robbing or killing somebody. Other than that, for the most part its "don't ask/don't tell". Prostitution is left alone unless the locals raise enough fuss over it. Drugs get the occsional bust, but the vast majority are left alone if its discrete. Now don't get me wrong...there are plenty of exceptions. And if you f with the cops, your going to get your ass kicked. But keep a low profile, don't screw with anybody that doesn't want to be screwed with, and you can do almost whatever you want. (Even taxes aren't a problem if you're willing to deal with the hassles of avoiding paying...)
-TD
From: Sunder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: stuart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Fatherland Security measures more important than Bennetton tags!
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 12:08:41 -0500 (est)
Some of this is already in place.
If you don't buy your Metrocard with cash, they have records of who you are. It's basically an ATM that takes ATM cards, credit cards (and some take cash also.) If you pay the machine by cash, you can be sure your face is linked to your Metrocard - since it's an ATM, they have to record who uses it.
If you've signed up for the Mail & Ride thing for the LIRR, they've got your metrocard linked already.
Not sure about the booths, wouldn't surprise me though. You can still buy preset cards from newsstands - YMMV.
Also, don't forget that each metrocard has it's own serial number. If you're not just a casual user, they can figure out around where you live because you use it twice. Once from home, once from work. Further, if you take them up on their offer to refresh the amount there - which they try to get you to do by making it so you always have a few extra cents left over on the card, there's another chance you might just use a credit card, etc...
If there are cameras near the turnstyles, it's easy to spot who swiped which card and where they go based on timestamps.
Of course face->card links aren't card->identity links, but if you're wanted, they're more than good enough.
----------------------Kaos-Keraunos-Kybernetos--------------------------- + ^ + :NSA got $20Bil/year |Passwords are like underwear. You don't /|\ \|/ :and didn't stop 9-11|share them, you don't hang them on your/\|/\ <--*-->:Instead of rewarding|monitor, or under your keyboard, you \/|\/ /|\ :their failures, we |don't email them, or put them on a web \|/ + v + :should get refunds! |site, and you must change them very often. [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.sunder.net ------------
On Sat, 15 Mar 2003, stuart wrote:
> What's to link? All that can be linked is that a metrocard was bought > in one place, be it a subway station, deli or whatever, and then used > somewhere else, the subway or bus. Hundreds of metrocards are bought > at every station every day, used once, and tossed in the trash. > (Actually, most of them get tossed on the train tracks.) > All that can be linked is that one anonymous person, along with dozens > of others, bought a metrocard and got on the subway a few minutes > later, and then vanished into the crush.
_________________________________________________________________
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
