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Good news, sort of! Eventually! The MTA has announced that OMNY, the contactless payment system that was rolled out in May, has expanded to a handful more subway stations and will be available at even more stops by the end of 2020. Maybe you will use it then?
Contactless payment systems are popular all over the world, and it's exciting to see the MTA catch up with the times. It could be argued that the city should be pumping more money into efficiency, and shifting its focus away from arresting people with excessive force for selling churros, but, you know, baby steps I guess.
Unfortunately, the current OMNY system doesn't provide monthly or student discounts, so every tap will cost the standard $2.75 per ride, but as the system expands to different boroughs and achieves saturation these pricing options will be added—again, hopefully by the end of next year.
Here's a list of new stations that OMNY will be available at next month:
MANHATTAN
Penn Station
Whitehall Street
South Ferry
51st Street to 125th Street on the 4, 5 and 6 lines
138th Street on the 4
BROOKLYN
86th Street - Bay Ridge
QUEENS
Sutphin Boulevard - Archer Avenue - JFK
STATEN ISLAND
St. George and Tompkinsville stations on the Staten Island Railway
Rector Street to 59th Street-Columbus Circle on the 1
Do you use the OMNY contactless payment system or are you hanging onto your MetroCard for the moment? Leave a comment and let us know.