After suffering substantial delays, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has completed its rollout of Apple Pay support to all buses and subway stations in the city via its OMNY contactless fare payment system.
/article-new/2020/06/apple-pay-nyc-mta-omny-Cleaned-1.jpg?lossy)
With the OMNY contactless payment system, riders are able to hold an iPhone or Apple Watch near a contactless reader to pay their fare with no authentication necessary, allowing for speedy passage through public transit hubs.
OMNY tap-and-go fare payments with Apple Pay Express Transit support became available at one of New York City's major transportation hubs, Penn Station, back in December 2019, followed by a number of other stations in early 2020. The rollout was originally intended to continue, but installation of the new digital readers was paused in late March, delaying completion until December 2020.
The New York installation has now been completed network-wide, according to an OMNY announcement.
It’s OMNY Time—everywhere! Every bus
Every subway station
Every borough Contactless fare payment is the best way to ride in 2021. Learn more and see if OMNY is right for you 👇 https://t.co/HOjO7m6Sjf pic.twitter.com/q66XOsbcoB — MTA. Wear a Mask. Stop the Spread. (@MTA) December 31, 2020
At this time, OMNY only works for individual rides and it is not yet possible to pre-pay for an unlimited ride pass. MetroCards, which predate the OMNY system, will continue to work on subway and bus systems until 2023, when it will be fully replaced by OMNY.
Top Rated Comments
But you don't have to unlock the phone...It will be a bigger win when the pandemic’s over and people no longer have to wear masks. Until then, it’s actually less convenient (unless you have a TouchID device).
You can set a "transit express card" that doesn't require FaceID to use - you just tap and go. I've been using it like that for weeks on my XS and it's super convenient.It will be a bigger win when the pandemic’s over and people no longer have to wear masks. Until then, it’s actually less convenient (unless you have a TouchID device).
Correct. I don’t think people understand that point at all or just don’t bother to read. That’s the whole point of doing this. It’s quick and convenientBut you don't have to unlock the phone...