MTA announces that MetroCards will be replaced by OMNY by end of 25: You served us well
Stand clear of the closing era, please.The MTA will stop selling MetroCards sometime after 2025 — ending an iconic part of city history and lore, MTA Chair and President Janno Lieber announced in a speech Wednesday.The transit chief didn’t give a firm date for the familiar yellow-and-blue card’s finale, but this is the first time the MTA has given any kind of time window for the three-decade-old card system to be finally phased out for its much-sturdier and contactless counterpart, OMNY.“Goodbye, MetroCard.You served us well,” Lieber said at a Crain’s New York Business event.“But it’s time to retire you to the Transit Museum, to spend many happy days with your old friend, Mr.
Token.”Lieber promised existing MetroCards will continue to work at turnstiles for “at least six months” after the final date.The MetroCard’s retirement has been a long time coming — as the MTA started eyeing the contactless method back in 2017, but the project was plagued with delays.In October, the transit authority finally began replacing subway kiosks with ones that spit out OMNY cards.
The month prior, student MetroCards were replaced by OMNY cards.OMNY, which can be accessed through mobile devices or through a $5 physical plastic card, was introduced in 2021 as a more convenient alternative to the old-school MetroCards.Plus, OMNY offers free rides after 12 swipes in a single week, making the contactless method more affordable to frequent commuters.“Why are we doing all of this? The answer is simple, making it easier to pay the fare and making it more affordable means more for paying customers,” Lieber said Wednesday.“Contactless fare payment is not only faster and more convenient, it’s going to allow us to do more, much more with discounts and promotions.
It’s a much more dynamic system.”MetroCards have reigned supreme in the Big Apple since its introduction in 1993.The OMNY of its time, the originally blue cards replaced subway tokens, which wer...