It’s a daily journey that takes Stephen John from his home in Great Kills to the Staten island railway’s Grasmere station. That's where his trip continues when he catches an MTA bus to Brooklyn. 

He says one thing is missing at the station, in case he's low on fare money. It's a MetroCard vending machine. 

"[The MTA] wonders why people are short on the bus. Like, 'I only got this ... only got change for a dollar.' If [vending machines] were available for them, they might not be short," John says.

The MTA says four transit locations have vending machines: the railway’s St. George and Tompskinville stations along with the ferry terminal, and the Eltingville Transit Center.

Stations like Grasemere do not have them. 

That's a problem for Council Member Steven Matteo.

"To not put a metro card vending machine in that station is an insult to Staten Island riders," Matteo says. 

Matteo wrote a letter to the MTA, asking for machines to be installed in the new station. In a response late last week, the authority cites cost, and that it will implement a new fare system. For those reasons, the letter reads in part, "New York City Transit does not intend to make additional vending machine purchases." 

In short: it's not gonna happen. 

That's not the only problem, according to SIR riders. They say the vending machine should go inside the waiting area, but it's usually locked up. 

"It looks nice, but is that what you want? Or do you want people to be able to use it  for what it was meant to be? Ridiculous," Delvalley says. 

A MTA spokeswoman says the station houses are open from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. for safety reasons. Alice Delvalley of Dongan hills says she's infuriated to see it locked up most of the day.

MTA officials recommend buying cards from merchants within half a mile from the station, or using EasyPay XPress to refill cards online.

Matteo says EasyPay XPress is great, but not everyone has internet access. He also wonders if the suggestion to walk half a mile to refill a MetroCard would work in any other borough.

"Once again they're using these lame excuses and insulting Staten Island riders and I've had enough of it," Matteo says.