MTA’s Billionth ‘Rider’: No Purchase Necessary

When the Metropolitan Transportation Authority identifies its billionth rider on Oct. 8, there’s a chance the winner might never have ridden an MTA bus or subway car. That’s because the MTA is holding a drawing to pick the rider--and anyone can enter. The contest is in lieu of the tricky task of identifying the actual billionth rider. That unheralded person “already rode one of our vehicles, probably in late August,” said MTA spokeswoman Andrea Greene. The person chosen as the billionth “rider” will get two round-trip tickets to ride, not on the bus but on Southwest Airlines, plus other goodies. Four semifinalists will get monthly bus passes.