Lost $75 on a monthly bus pass I barely used last month

I finally did the math last night and realized I spent $75 on a monthly bus pass for March and only rode the bus 8 times. My work went hybrid with 3 remote days a week, and I just kept buying the pass out of habit. Most of those bus rides were just short trips to the grocery store or library, which would have cost me like $10 total in single fares. I figured the monthly pass was saving me money but it was actually burning cash because I wasn't commuting daily anymore. The worst part is the pass expired and I can't get a refund, so that money is just gone. Has anyone else fallen into this trap with prepaid passes or subscriptions that don't match your actual routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

sanchez.pat19d ago

Dang that sucks, I've been there too with wasting money on stuff I didn't need.

logan23621d ago

I did the exact same thing for three months straight before I finally caught on. $225 down the drain because I was too lazy to recalculate my routine after my schedule changed. What worked for me was opening up my phone's calendar and physically blocking out a typical week's worth of trips before buying anything. Once I saw I was only doing maybe 10-12 rides a month, I switched to a prepaid card that just deducts per ride, no commitment. Also started keeping cash in a specific envelope for transit so I couldn't just auto-renew and forget about it. It stings losing that $75 but at least now you know to check your actual habits before locking into something like that again.

mitchell.lee21d agoMost Upvoted

Logan236 the real trick is asking your transit agency for a 30-day average of your taps before you buy anything.