OP Here. This is an amazing response from a city agency. In the end of the day, agencies rarely interact directly with citizens. The normal response to someone analyzing your data is to close up and have no comment. The fact that they admit the mistake is huge, and big step forward for Open Data and agency interaction.
OP Here. If you go through my blog, you'll see that I have pushed for change from many agencies. Scroll to bottom of article for list. And yes, I will be rechecking.
That's one way to look at it. But I always feel being aboveboard is the way to go on this stuff. Also, its a tiny bit of a regressive tax as well. Unlimited cards go to those who can afford the upfront cost.