OMNY readers, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) contactless fare payment solution, have been installed on all 151 Manhattan subway stations and on all 800-plus Manhattan buses.
The completion of OMNY installation in the borough coincides with a recent uptick in ridership across the system and is expected to lead to increases in the number of customers moving away from the MetroCard, which will co-exist alongside OMNY until 2023, says MTA.
"The OMNY train rolls on," said Al Putre, OMNY executive. "Since launching the public pilot in late May of last year, we have methodically maintained our schedule and remain on pace to be everywhere in the system by the end of the year. It bears repeating that not even a global pandemic can hold us back. We are excited that anyone traveling within Manhattan can now pay their fare for subways and buses using OMNY."
OMNY is now available at 348 stations, with all 472 subway stations in the system on pace to be equipped with the contactless fare payment system by the end of the year. Manhattan is the third borough to have all its stations equipped with OMNY readers. Activation of OMNY in all Bronx stations was completed in early July, joining Staten Island which was completed in December 2019. Installation of OMNY readers in Queens and Brooklyn stations will continue through the end of the year.
“OMNY’s consistent progress is emblematic of the way we have approached modernizing our system,” said Sarah Feinberg, interim New York City Transit president. “Our customers love it and I look forward to every station being OMNY-equipped.”
“As we work hard tailoring our bus system for a post-pandemic world, modernized fare payment is a key piece of how we can speed up buses and bring customers back to our system,” said Craig Cipriano, acting senior vice president of Buses for MTA New York City Transit and president of the MTA Bus Company. “I am elated for our Manhattan customers who will never have to ask if their bus has OMNY.”
OMNY use has grown steadily. Approximately 1.72 million unique bank cards or smart devices have been tapped at OMNY readers since the program launched in May 2019. At OMNY-enabled stations, the market share of customers using OMNY instead of MetroCard has increased 95 percent over the last six months, from 4.4 percent in February 2020 to 8.6 percent in August 2020. On a typical weekday 110,000 taps occur and the figure increases every week. Overall, the system has recorded more than 19.5 million taps since its public launch in May 2019.
“We are one step closer to a fully contactless system, something that has become crucial in this new normal,” said Sarah Meyer, New York City Transit chief customer officer. “New Yorkers are known for moving fast, and with OMNY they will be able to do just that with a quick and seamless way to pay.”
Customers can see the stations and buses where OMNY has been activated at the OMNY website. Additional fare options will become available in 2021, after the activation of OMNY across the entire NYC Transit system.
