"NEW YORK CITY, NY - After more than 30 years, New York commuters will say goodbye to a subway staple: the MetroCard. Starting next year, the yellow piece of plastic that NYC commuters have kept in their wallets will become useless as the city transitions to a new contactless payment system called OMNY. The change won't be significant to many, as roughly 94 percent of New York commuters already use a contactless system, like Apple Pay, to access the subway."
"OMNY will also be used for travel on subways as well as Select Bus Service (SBS) buses, the Staten Island Railway, the Roosevelt Island Tram, and the Hudson Rail Link bus services. Commuters can add their OMNY card to their digital wallet on their phone, or use a physical card, which can be reloaded with funds, similar to the outgoing MetroCard. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has already installed 980 OMNY card vending machines across all 472 subway stations."
New York City will retire the MetroCard after more than 30 years and switch to a contactless payment system called OMNY beginning next year. About 94 percent of commuters already use contactless options such as Apple Pay, leaving roughly six percent to transition. OMNY will work on subways, Select Bus Service, the Staten Island Railway, the Roosevelt Island Tram, and the Hudson Rail Link. Riders can use a phone digital wallet or a reloadable physical OMNY card. The MTA installed 980 OMNY vending machines across all 472 subway stations. The change could save the MTA about $20 million annually and offers a weekly unlimited-ride benefit after 12 taps. MetroCard sales and refills end Dec. 31; existing balances remain usable in 2026 but cannot be reloaded after the deadline.
Read at New York City, NY Patch
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]