Thank G-d for no distance pricing in NYC. Having to pull a fare card out twice would make exit lines move much slower. It also would punish less well-off people from the outer areas of the boroughs vs the wealthier who commute within Manhattan or from closer areas in the boroughs. The $2.50 (less the MetroCard discount) fare anywhere in the city or the $112 flat-rate monthly card are quite OK with me.

The problems are mainly the unions and generally asinine bureaucracy, which make any modernization projects end up massively over time and over budget. As far as cell phones not working in the subway — really, who cares? If you can’t stay off the intarwebz for 15 minutes, you need therapy, not a hotspot.