Metropolitan Diary: The Limits of a MetroCard MetroCards have the power to make you feel occasionally powerful. The card alone makes you feel as if you can go anywhere at anytime. But of course we all know that plastic can be an illusion. Only a few years ago you knew how far you could go by the change in your pocket. I got on the bus on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn with my mighty MetroCard and - well, you know how this part goes - one swipe revealed it had no money on it. The bus driver, sporting a well-groomed mustache and beard, refused to let me off the bus. Instead, he said, "It ain't my job to put you on the street, baby; it's my job to take you home." And that's the thing about humility, pocket change and even Brooklyn bus drivers - they are infinitely more powerful.