MTA's World Class Contactless Fare Payment System Now Available in 77% of Subway Stations 

Work to Install OMNY Readers in All Stations and On All Buses, Remains on Pace to Be Completed by End of Year 

MTA Also Launches New Customer Education Video Showing Customers How to Use OMNY 

View Photos and Video of Press Conference

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its OMNY new fare payment system has now recorded more than 21 million taps and that more 77% of subway stations are now equipped with the OMNY readers that enable customers to pay their fare by a simple tap of their contactless credit card or mobile device. The Authority also launched a new customer education video featuring step-by-step guidance on how to use the contactless payment system from OMNY Executive and New York City Transit legend Al Putre. OMNY, which will replace MetroCard in 2023, remains on pace to be in every subway station and on every MTA bus by the end of the year.

OMNY is now available at 365 subway stations, or 77% of the 472 total stations systemwide. All stations where fare payment is required in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island have been equipped with OMNY's state-of-the-art readers, which allow customers to simply tap a contactless credit card or mobile device when paying their fare. Efforts to complete the installation of readers throughout Queens and Brooklyn remain ongoing and will continue until the end of the year when the rollout is set to be completed. OMNY readers have also been installed on all Manhattan and Staten Island buses and installation on all Bronx buses is expected to be finished in the coming weeks. The remaining buses in Brooklyn and Queens will be installed before year's end.

"The work to bring OMNY everywhere continues in earnest and we are extremely close to reaching that goal,” said Al Putre, OMNY Executive. "As full completion becomes imminent, it was imperative that we upped our efforts to educate our customers about precisely how to use this tap based system and that's why we're launching this new campaign. Spoiler: it's really easy and you have until 2023 to figure it out, but for anyone having trouble just watch this video."

“The continued success of our OMNY rollout shows that when the MTA dedicates itself to a critical modernization project, we can do great things,” said Sarah Feinberg, Interim New York City Transit President. “Even at the height of a global pandemic, Al and his team worked relentlessly to get this done and I am eager for our millions of customers to experience the sleek simplicity of this first-rate payment system as they continue to return to the system.”

“I am eager for our bus customers to be able to experience OMNY," said Craig Cipriano, Acting Senior Vice President of Buses for MTA New York City Transit and President of the MTA Bus Company. “No more MetroCard glitch issues upon boarding. Just tap and go. Our Bronx bus customers are in for a real treat in the coming weeks when they'll get to experience the ease of OMNY.”

“Contactless payment is especially helpful during these challenging times and I'm elated that all of our customers will get to use OMNY by the end of the year,” said Sarah Meyer, New York City Transit Chief Customer Officer. “New Yorkers have enthusiastically taken to using OMNY and the entire NYCT team is proud to be a part of this historic venture."

OMNY use has grown steadily since the launch of its pilot phase in late May of 2019. Approximately 1.8 million unique bank cards or smart devices have been tapped at OMNY readers since then, with the market share of customers using OMNY increasing some 90% over the last six months alone. Today, OMNY accounts for roughly 8.5% of all fares paid at stations where the system is available. More than 115,000 OMNY taps are recorded each day. Just under 73% of OMNY users pay with their digital wallet, while approximately 27% pay using a contactless bank card. In total, some 21.3 million taps have been recorded.

Customers can see the stations and buses where OMNY has been activated at the OMNY website, https://omny.info

Additional fare products are scheduled to become available in 2021, after the activation of OMNY across the entire NYC Transit system.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT MTA FARE PAYMENTS ANDOMNY:

• 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. All turnstiles were MetroCard-enabled by May 1997 and all buses began accepting it by the end of 1995. Tokens were sold until April 2003 and acceptance was discontinued that May in subway stations and that December on buses.
• OMNY readers accept contactless cards from companies such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, as well as digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Fitbit Pay.
• Following the completion of OMNY installation at all subway turnstiles and on buses, the MTA will gradually introduce all remaining fare options and programs, including reduced fares for seniors and customers with disabilities, student fares, and more.
• In 2021, the MTA will introduce an OMNY card at retail locations throughout the New York region.
• Also in 2021, the MTA will begin to install new vending machines at locations throughout the system.
• Only after OMNY is fully available everywhere MetroCard is today, expected in 2023, will the MTA say goodbye to the MetroCard.
• Purchasing your fare with cash will remain an option. Additional info about OMNY is available at https://OMNY.info