I just found this electronic article from New York Magazine reporting on the demise of the Metrocard. I read a similar article this morning in AM New York. It looks like New Yorkers are stuck with it until 2019. There are few problems when using it to board a bus, but very often one must have to swipe a few times before getting through a subway turnstile. This is usually caused by dirty readers. I really hope that a thicker card like the one use in PATH, Atlanta and other cities will be used.