The first phase of the MTA’s OMNY program—which is a “contactless fare payment system” for public transportation via smartphone rather than MetroCard—kicked off in June, and is now being implemented slowly but surely in most NYC subway stations.
They began in a handful of stations (like Grand Central-42nd Street and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center on the 4/5/6 line) and since the start of the program have already exceeded five million taps. According to an MTA press release, the OMNY readers will be expanding into 60 more stations by the end of January 2020, including:
- Herald Square
- 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center
- Bryant Park
- West 4 St-Washington Square
- World Trade Center
- Jay St-MetroTech
They rest of the stations are off the B/D (from 145 St to West 4 St-Washington Sq.); F/M (47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center and West 4 St-Washington Sq.); A (from Inwood-207 St.); C (from 168 St. down 8th Avenue in Manhattan to Jay St-MetroTech in Brooklyn); and E (50 St to the end of the line at World Trade Center) lines. This will total nearly 150 stations with OMNY in NYC by the end of the month.
The goal is to have them fully implemented in the entire subway and bus system by the end of the year, which they are currently on target for.
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