MTA activates first OMNY card vending machines (2024)

FAQs

MTA activates first OMNY card vending machines? ›

MTA has activated OMNY vending machines. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has activated the first OMNY card vending machines. Customers can use cash at the vending machines, as well as credit and debit cards and digital wallets.

The MTA began offering OMNY contactless cards on October 1, 2021, and introduced fare capping on February 28, 2022.

Can I still pay for multiple riders with OMNY? Yes. The same pass-back rules that apply to MetroCard also apply to OMNY. You can tap and pay for yourself and up to 3 additional riders with the same payment method on a single trip.

First rolled out in 2019 as a test, OMNY has expanded steadily throughout the system, now it will totally replace the Metro Card. For those not yet in the know, OMNY is a contactless fare payment system that is being implemented for use throughout public transit in the New York metropolitan area.

Buy and reload an OMNY card at stores across the city, including participating Walgreens, CVS, 7-Eleven, CFSC Check Cashing, and Payomatic stores, as well as many bodegas and independent pharmacies. Visit our retail locator and enter your location to find a store near you.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT MTA FARE PAYMENTS AND OMNY: A list of all subway stations and bus routes where OMNY is currently in use is at this link: https://omny.info/system-rollout. The MetroCard was first tested in the system in 1993, debuting to the larger public in January 1994.

Subway Token (1953-2003)

It was't until 1953 when fares were raised to 15 cents that the subway token was invented—the reason being that there wasn't a singular coin that riders could pay with. Over the following years, the subway token took many forms and designs, as subway fare consistently increased.

To pay your fare at subway turnstiles, AutoGates, and onboard buses (including Select Bus Service buses), simply tap your own contactless credit or debit card, smart device, or OMNY card on the OMNY reader.

Fare capping FAQ

Simply tap and go with the same contactless credit or debit card, smart device, or OMNY card. Once you've hit 12 paid trips in a seven-day period, the rest of your rides for that week will automatically be free.

Say hello to an easier, more equitable way to pay your fare: the 7-day fare cap with OMNY! Effective August 20, you can start any day of the week: pay for 12 rides in a 7-day period and any additional rides are free. And, unlike with MetroCard, you don't have to pay upfront. Just tap and pay as you go.

Is NYC phasing out MetroCards? ›

The MTA announced their plan to phase out the MetroCard by 2024 in late 2020 after completing the OMNY roll out on schedule. From then on, shiny new OMNY vending machines have begun to arrive in stations with the intention to fully replace the traditional MetroCard vending machines until they're completely extinct!

Conversation. Seniors with reduced-fare MetroCards can switch to OMNY and pay by credit card, smartphone, or OMNY card. Go to omny.info to find out how.

Through an OMNY account, you can suspend the card anytime and transfer the balance to a replacement card. If you don't have an OMNY account, OMNY customer service may be able to suspend the lost card for you. Make sure to keep a record of your 18-digit card number, CVV number and expiration date.

Till then, the OMNY card will roll out alongside the Target and Amazon and Red Lobster gift cards at chain drugstores like CVS and Duane Reade, as well as in the bodegas, dollar stores, and other neighborhood places that already sell MetroCards. (You'll be able to reload the card with cash at those retailers, too.)

OMNY Cards have been available to purchase at retail stores such as Walgreens, as well as many bodegas. OMNY Cards will be available for $1, rather than the typical $5, for a limited time at OMNY vending machines, officials said.

OMNY Cards cost $5, but they last for 7 years (not 18 months like Metrocard) and they are thick and durable like a credit card. In the near future, some retailers will also allow you to load Unlimited Ride passes onto them. In 2 or 3 years, there will be vending machines where you can buy and reload OMNY Cards.

Where can I use OMNY? All subway stations, MTA buses and Roosevelt Island Tram stations have OMNY readers. In the coming months, we plan to expand fare options across subway, bus, paratransit, and commuter rail.

1940s, Ticket & Transfer Collection; New York Transit Museum. Once the tokens were introduced in 1953 it remained a vital part of the city's life for five decades. They weathered fare changes, morphed to keep counterfeiters at bay, and commemorated special occasions.

The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), a public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968.

The MBTA, or the "T," was voted into law on August 3, 1964, becoming the first combined regional transit system in the U.S., serving 78 municipalities in the Greater Boston area.