You can now get access to any New York subway station at the touch of a phone instead of (notoriously sick) theft of a MetroCard.
The Metropolitan Transport Authority announced on Thursday that it has completed the deployment of tap-to-pay readers at all metro stations and on all of its buses across the city. MTA has been installing the system, called OMNY, since May 2019 as part of a modernization effort to eliminate the plastic MetroCards that have been in use since the 1990s. The new tap-to-pay system is available at 472 stations and in 5,800 buses in total, said the MTA.
Tap-to-pay is said to speed up entry to buses and subways and reduce costs across the public transport system, officials said. It also aims to be simpler and more modern. Other cities have had tap-to-pay transit systems for years or decades.
For now, you need a phone compatible with NFC-based mobile payments to use the OMNY system. Later, in 2021, the MTA will begin selling tap-to-pay cards that can be used in place of a phone – an important addition, as not all users have a smartphone. Support for reduced rates for senior pilots and disabled pilots will arrive sometime this year, too.
MetroCards are to be “eliminated entirely” by 2023.