MTA's plan to wind down MetroCard by end of 2025 may affect Nassau County bus riders
The MTA is discontinuing the MetroCard by the end of 2025. Credit: John Roca
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will stop selling MetroCards by the end of 2025, impacting not only New York City Transit customers, but also tens of thousands of Nassau bus riders who still don't have access to the new "tap-and-go" OMNY system that is set to replace the 30-year-old fare card, officials said Wednesday.
MTA officials announced Wednesday their plan to "sunset" the iconic blue-and-yellow fare card this year, with the final MetroCard being sold on Dec. 31. Retail partners, including in Nassau County, will stop selling the cards by this fall, according to the MTA.
Commuters will still be able to swipe the cards at subway turnstiles or dip them in buses for "at least six months" after they stop being sold, before they are phased out completely, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said at a Manhattan event hosted by Crain's New York Business.
The MTA, in a statement, said "the official final acceptance date" for the MetroCard will be announced at a later date. Customers "are encouraged to spend down the value" on the cards, the agency said, noting that remaining balances will be eligible for transfer or reimbursement for two years after the card's expiration date.
"Goodbye, MetroCard. You served us well," Lieber said. "But it’s time to retire you to the Transit Museum, to spend many happy days with your old friend, Mr. Token."
The MTA has long signaled the looming extinction of the MetroCard, which was introduced in 1993. The cards, with their antiquated magnetic strips, are to be replaced by the MTA’s OMNY fare payment system, introduced in 2019, which allows riders to pay for their trips with a tap of a phone or credit card.
OMNY has been widely adopted in New York City, where all buses and subway stations accept the new fare payment system. The MTA said its roll out of the fare system would be "complete" with the installation of OMNY card vending machines at the last of its 472 subway stations this fall.
But OMNY is not available on "affiliate" bus systems that currently accept the MetroCard, including the Nassau Inter-County Express, or NICE Bus. About 45% of NICE’s 76,000 daily riders use the MetroCard, which provides them free transfers to MTA buses and subways. The $2.90 Nassau bus fare can also be paid in cash or via NICE's GoMobile app, but neither of those options comes with the free MTA transfer.
OMNY comes with other benefits for MTA customers, including fare capping that allows them to ride for free after paying for the first 12 trips in a week. NICE has not committed to offering that perk.
The MTA initially planned to have OMNY available on NICE by 2020, but only signed a deal with Nassau to bring the new system to county buses in December. "Tap-and-go validators" are expected to start being installed on NICE's fleet of 300 buses in the coming months, and MTA spokesman David Steckel said Wednesday in a statement that "by the end of 2025, Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) buses will ... transition to OMNY."
But NICE officials, who have expressed frustration with the MTA in recent years over the slow roll out of OMNY, have expressed less certainty that the new fare system will be available to all Nassau bus riders by year's end.
In November, NICE marketing and communications director Erika Richards predicted it could take until 2026 to install new fare boxes on all county buses. Last month, NICE spokesman Mark Smith said "the timetable is still being reviewed but NICE is hopeful for a 2025 deployment."
On Wednesday, Smith said, "At this point in the process we remain optimistic the OMNY project will be completed before the end of the year."
Given the years of delays in the roll out of OMNY, Charlton D’souza, president of Passengers United, a rider advocacy group, said he was "very, very concerned" that the MetroCard would be scrapped before Nassau bus riders had full access to OMNY. That could mean some riders would have to pay twice if they transfer between NICE and the MTA.
"I don't think they're going to be ready by January," D’souza sad. "What's going to happen is that NICE Bus customers ... are going to be locked out of the discounts that the MetroCard provides, and they're going to have to pay double fares. That's what it looks like, and it's disgusting."
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will stop selling MetroCards by the end of 2025, impacting not only New York City Transit customers, but also tens of thousands of Nassau bus riders who still don't have access to the new "tap-and-go" OMNY system that is set to replace the 30-year-old fare card, officials said Wednesday.
MTA officials announced Wednesday their plan to "sunset" the iconic blue-and-yellow fare card this year, with the final MetroCard being sold on Dec. 31. Retail partners, including in Nassau County, will stop selling the cards by this fall, according to the MTA.
Commuters will still be able to swipe the cards at subway turnstiles or dip them in buses for "at least six months" after they stop being sold, before they are phased out completely, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said at a Manhattan event hosted by Crain's New York Business.
The MTA, in a statement, said "the official final acceptance date" for the MetroCard will be announced at a later date. Customers "are encouraged to spend down the value" on the cards, the agency said, noting that remaining balances will be eligible for transfer or reimbursement for two years after the card's expiration date.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND:
- The MTA announced on Wednesday new details of its plan to phase out the MetroCard. The final MetroCard will be sold in December, according to the MTA.
- The MetroCard, which was introduced in 1993, is being replaced by OMNY, which is already accepted on New York City buses and subways. OMNY allows riders to pay for their trips with the tap of a phone or credit card.
- OMNY is still not available on Nassau’s NICE Bus system, where more than 40% of riders use the MetroCard and rely on it for free transfers to city buses and subways. MTA officials said. OMNY should be in place on NICE by the end of 2025.
"Goodbye, MetroCard. You served us well," Lieber said. "But it’s time to retire you to the Transit Museum, to spend many happy days with your old friend, Mr. Token."
The MTA has long signaled the looming extinction of the MetroCard, which was introduced in 1993. The cards, with their antiquated magnetic strips, are to be replaced by the MTA’s OMNY fare payment system, introduced in 2019, which allows riders to pay for their trips with a tap of a phone or credit card.
No OMNY on NICE buses
OMNY has been widely adopted in New York City, where all buses and subway stations accept the new fare payment system. The MTA said its roll out of the fare system would be "complete" with the installation of OMNY card vending machines at the last of its 472 subway stations this fall.
But OMNY is not available on "affiliate" bus systems that currently accept the MetroCard, including the Nassau Inter-County Express, or NICE Bus. About 45% of NICE’s 76,000 daily riders use the MetroCard, which provides them free transfers to MTA buses and subways. The $2.90 Nassau bus fare can also be paid in cash or via NICE's GoMobile app, but neither of those options comes with the free MTA transfer.
OMNY comes with other benefits for MTA customers, including fare capping that allows them to ride for free after paying for the first 12 trips in a week. NICE has not committed to offering that perk.
The MTA initially planned to have OMNY available on NICE by 2020, but only signed a deal with Nassau to bring the new system to county buses in December. "Tap-and-go validators" are expected to start being installed on NICE's fleet of 300 buses in the coming months, and MTA spokesman David Steckel said Wednesday in a statement that "by the end of 2025, Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) buses will ... transition to OMNY."
OMNY on NICE by year end?
But NICE officials, who have expressed frustration with the MTA in recent years over the slow roll out of OMNY, have expressed less certainty that the new fare system will be available to all Nassau bus riders by year's end.
In November, NICE marketing and communications director Erika Richards predicted it could take until 2026 to install new fare boxes on all county buses. Last month, NICE spokesman Mark Smith said "the timetable is still being reviewed but NICE is hopeful for a 2025 deployment."
On Wednesday, Smith said, "At this point in the process we remain optimistic the OMNY project will be completed before the end of the year."
Given the years of delays in the roll out of OMNY, Charlton D’souza, president of Passengers United, a rider advocacy group, said he was "very, very concerned" that the MetroCard would be scrapped before Nassau bus riders had full access to OMNY. That could mean some riders would have to pay twice if they transfer between NICE and the MTA.
"I don't think they're going to be ready by January," D’souza sad. "What's going to happen is that NICE Bus customers ... are going to be locked out of the discounts that the MetroCard provides, and they're going to have to pay double fares. That's what it looks like, and it's disgusting."
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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