NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The MTA on Tuesday announced that the agency’s contactless fare payment system, OMNY, has surpassed 100 million taps.
OMNY – which stands for One Metro New York – was introduced to the city’s transit network in 2019 and was fully installed on all buses and in all subway systems in December 2020.
Since then, the MTA says the system has had commuters use the new payment method over 100 million times.
“And we haven't even introduced our own on the card yet. Later this year, we will start selling on the cards through an extensive retail network around the city,” said Wayne Lydon, director MTA Fare Payment Programs.
OMNY readers process payments from smartphones, contactless bank cards and wearable technology, such as smartwatches.
Nearly 80% of all OMNY taps come from the city’s subway system, about one-fifth comes from buses and the remaining fraction comes from the Staten Island Railway.
“OMNY’s continued success shows that when you embrace new technologies, great things can happen,” said NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg. “As we approach the final years of the MetroCard, I encourage customers to begin moving over to OMNY.”
The MTA plans to phase out MetroCards, which became the predominant payment form on subways and buses in 2003, in 2023 – at which point, OMNY will replay MetroCards completely.
The agency notes that paying with cash will always be an option.
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