Apparently the MTA relies on this inconvenience to pad their budget. According to Second Avenue Saga, the MTA has included $40 million dollars in estimated unused MetroCard fares in their 2010 budget. I guess that explains why they aren't making it any easier for us to put the correct amount on our cards, by, say, offering a $45 option when we purchase a card (which is the smallest amount that comes out evenly).

Brooklyn resident, Steven O'Neill, was on the case, though, and created a website, metrocardbonuscalculator.com, to help people figure out both how much to put on their new cards and how much they need to add to a card with a balance on it in order to have the card empty cleanly.

On the other hand, considering how badly the MTA is doing currently, perhaps we should just let them keep our spare change.

And what about all those cards I already have with balances? I just discovered that you can take up to 5 cards that have remainders on them to a token booth and they will combine them onto one card. OK, so maybe my math isn't that good, but I think we cracked this.