# Today I Discovered . . . Weird Ways To Pay Busfare **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556 "2011-04-07T18:27:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/1 "2011-04-07T18:27:38Z")
Someone foisted off some dumb Sacajawea dollar coins on me and it’s all I had when it came time to hop my bus. I asked the friendly driver if I could use them and he said – “Sure – dollars, half-dollars (haven’t seen one in five years), pennies, we take everything!” A vending/transit machine that takes **pennies** – that’s new on me (running home to purge all my old pennies over the next few days bus rides, easier than going to the coin machine). Have you ever seen a vending situation where pennies were an option, since the days of penny gumballs which seem to have disappeared at least ten years ago? Or for transit? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/2 "2011-04-07T19:19:30Z")
I have a pile of Sackies I got some a bus drier when I begged him to take the only thing I had, a twenty dollar bill. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/3 "2011-04-07T19:19:53Z")
I think most bus fare machines take all denominations of coins. A lot of the people who take buses are people who can’t afford cars, and they may be collecting change and saving up pennies to pay bus fare. I also noticed that the Metro farecard machines in Washington DC will take (and give in change) just about any denomination. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/4 "2011-04-07T19:22:44Z")
Tip - don’t try this in London. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/5 "2011-04-07T19:58:02Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Have you ever seen a vending situation where pennies were an option, since the days of penny gumballs which seem to have disappeared at least ten years ago? Or for transit? Not precisely vending or transit, but the self-checkout rig at the grocery store I shop at takes pennies. It pretty much has to, since grocery amounts don’t reliably come out neatly in larger denominations. Unfortunately, the reason I know this is because I was in line for one of the checkout stations behind two women who had several bags of pennies, and were paying the entire amount that way. It takes a long time to feed several hundred pennies, one at a time, into a coin slot. (I, and everyone behind me, went to other lanes once we saw what they were doing, but they were still at it when I left.) ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/6 "2011-04-07T20:01:55Z")
Oh – the bus also accepts payment by MasterCard PayPass. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/7 "2011-04-08T00:15:23Z")
Chicao CTA takes everything. I’ve used an unlimited monthly pass for about 11 years, though, so I can’t attest to personal use as proof. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/8 "2011-04-08T00:24:21Z")
I didn’t get my bus pass in the mail one month and wound up paying in cash all month. Very annoying when you’re used to swiping a card every day. I used up a lot of spare change, although the machine got confused several times and didn’t register all of the pennies. In one case, it started counting all over again before I was done putting everything in the machine. All the bus drivers let me on anyway, so it must happen often. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/9 "2011-04-08T00:55:23Z")
A stray penny from my pocket wound up with bus fare one day and I was surprised to see the display register $2.51 before my ticket was dispensed, so pennies are fare in Vancouver. Personally, I find the that the people who stand there and count out nickels and dimes while everyone waits ought to be water-boarded. Pennies? Only good for throwing at pigeons. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/10 "2011-04-08T01:05:56Z")
Until seven years ago, [Metrobus](http://www.wmata.com/) fareboxes accepted pennies. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/11 "2011-04-08T01:17:36Z")
The tollbooths on the Florida Turnpike take pennies, even though they don’t say they do. Great way to offload pennies by the handful. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/12 "2011-04-08T01:24:04Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Not precisely vending or transit, but the self-checkout rig at the grocery store I shop at takes pennies. It pretty much has to, since grocery amounts don’t reliably come out neatly in larger denominations. If there’s nobody behind me in line (so that I don’t seem like the ladies in your post), I’ll put in whatever loose change I have in my pockets before proceeding to pay with my debit card as usual, usually just a few cents, but sometimes more. Keeps the annoying loose-change accumulation at home down. It is a nice way to get rid of pennies. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/13 "2011-04-08T03:07:02Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > …Personally, I find the that the people who stand there and count out nickels and dimes while everyone waits ought to be water-boarded. Pennies? Only good for throwing at pigeons. Oooh, yes. The month that I was the one with the change, I had mine pre-counted every time, tried to make the number of coins not terribly obnoxious, and always boarded last at my stop. I got really good at depositing my fare quickly, even though it was more coins than most people use. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/14 "2011-04-08T03:31:46Z")
Do the stamp machines at the post office still take pennies? That’s the last place I remember using them back when I used to have to send a lot more snail mail. Now, all change goes to coinstar twice a year and I get Amazon credit. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/15 "2011-04-08T13:27:17Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > The tollbooths on the Florida Turnpike take pennies, even though they don’t say they do. Great way to offload pennies by the handful. Same in Illinois, though I’ve had I-pass for years and haven’t had to use the coin baskets, I used to dump pennies in them all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-discovered-weird-ways-to-pay-busfare/577556/16 "2011-04-08T14:42:36Z")
Metro Transit buses and trains in the Twin Cities take pennies, although this feature only gets used when I’m late for class. They don’t give change, so you certainly don’t want to put in 176 pennies instead of 175.