In late May, New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced a sprawling rollout of adjustments for its riders from now through 2026. Many of the changes relate to the city’s effort to transition Metrocard users to One Metro New York (OMNY), the city’s contactless payment method for public transportation.
The MTA is doling out specific OMNY cards to NYC school students in September for the 2024–2025 school year. In addition to providing students with OMNY, the MTA is including Reduced-Fare, Fair Fares, Access-a-Ride, and pre-tax commuter benefit customers in the rollout. “Substantial completion” of the payment system for those riders is “slated for the end of 2025” across subway, bus, and paratransit services.
“By treating OMNY as the mega-project that it is, we have turned a corner on delivering its benefits to all categories of customers,” noted MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “The new approach is going to give users the sense of interoperability they expect, while limiting MTA’s contractor risk and saving millions of dollars.”
“Billions of taps prove that OMNY is the most cost-effective and easy way to pay your fare,” added MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara.
What Else Is The MTA Changing?
Current Reduced-Fare Metrocard riders can expect an OMNY card in the mail by the end of this year.
The MTA claims that “upgrades,” “integrations,” and modernized ticket machines will be available for Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad riders by early 2026.
What Is OMNY?
The payment system allows NYC subway and bus riders to pay their fares using contactless credit or debit cards. Through the new way to pay, commuters can also use their smartphone, wearable device, or OMNY card “to tap and go.”
“New York City Transit customers are choosing contactless fare payment with a customer satisfaction rate of 85%,” claims the MTA. “More than three quarters (76%) of regular fare customers are now tapping in with OMNY, a 10% increase in overall market share in the past year. Nearly 70% of OMNY customers tap into the system with their smart device with the remaining using debit, credit, or OMNY card.”
