You can now access any New York City Metro station by tapping a phone, instead of the (famous picky) scratch of a MetroCard.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Thursday that it has completed the deployment of tap-to-pay scanners at all metro stations and on all its buses in the city. The MTA has been installing the OMNY system since May 2019 as part of a modernization effort to phase out the plastic MetroCards that have been in use since the 90s. The MTA said the new pay-to-pay system is available at 472 stations and a total of 5,800 buses.
Tap-to-pay is supposed to speed up access to buses and subways and reduce costs in the transportation system, officials said. It is also just meant to be simpler and more modern. Other cities have had pay-to-pay access systems for years or decades.
First, you need a phone that supports NFC-based mobile payments to use the OMNY system. Later in 2021, the MTA will start selling tap-to-pay cards that can be used in place of a phone – an important addition because not all riders own a smartphone. Support for reduced fares for senior riders and riders with disabilities will also come at some point this year.
MetroCards is expected to be completely phased out by 2023.