{"id":7426,"date":"2025-04-23T13:07:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T17:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/?p=7426"},"modified":"2025-04-23T15:39:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T19:39:38","slug":"whats-going-on-with-omny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/2025\/04\/whats-going-on-with-omny\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s going on with OMNY?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Dyckman Street Train Station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A brisk walk to the train station\u2013just three minutes away from home, Viannly Concepcion wears her puffy jacket and comfy sneakers before braving the cold winds of the city\u2019s winter climate. She attends City College of New York, in Harlem, just a few train stops from her home. The icy wind doesn\u2019t disturb her peace for long. Heading down the station steps, she takes out her OMNY card from her wallet. As she presses it on the card reader, the machine\u2019s screen flashes green, and she\u2019s let through.<\/p>\n

Later that night, her phone buzzes. A notification shows her card was charged not just once, but twice\u2013on some occasions, even three times. She finds it surprising, but it\u2019s not the first time this has happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started tapping, I realized that it wouldn\u2019t charge me right away, but instead it would double or triple charge me at midnight,\u201d said Concepcion as she recounted her story.
\nThe MTA\u2019s OMNY card launched to the public on May 31, 2019, with machines being installed at 16 subway locations and on Staten Island buses as part of the MTA\u2019s pilot program. It wasn\u2019t fully integrated into train stations until the end of 2020, clearly signaling it would replace New York City\u2019s traditional MetroCard. This payment overhaul followed a long history of fare evolution, dating back to 1904 when New Yorkers paid with nickels.<\/p>\n

When OMNY was introduced, New Yorkers were told it would be a more elevated version of the yellow, blue and black plastic MetroCard\u2013offering convenience, affordability, and one less swipe to worry about.<\/p>\n

Now, in 2025, Concepcion isn\u2019t the only New Yorker dealing with this similar issue. Josh Morales, a Hunter College student, notes that on some occasions his OMNY card doesn\u2019t allow him to use his transfer, even within the time limit the MTA offers.
\n\u201cWhile I am kinda pissed, I don\u2019t have the time to do a whole research about it,\u201d said Morales when asked about finding a possible solution.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Viannly Concepcion, “I didn’t even go out this day.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Others have taken to social media to share frustrations about OMNY. Many complained about being charged multiple times at odd hours and said attempts to report the issue only led to more questions than answers. Some of the videos go back to 2022, just two years after OMNY was fully implemented into stations.
\nIn one instance, a TikToker posted a video that received more than 66,000 views. In it, they recount a call with an MTA official about false transactions, listing locations on specific days they hadn\u2019t visited.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did your system charge me for things I didn\u2019t pay for?\u201d the TikToker asked.<\/p>\n

After discovering she wasn\u2019t alone, Concepcion decided she no longer wanted her money \u201cstolen.\u201d Upon seeing more videos online, however, she didn\u2019t know what else to do.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Late overcharges found on Concepcion’s bank account<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI came across a couple of people experiencing the same issue of telling their experience about how they barely get any help from the [MTA] workers to get their money back or a way to not get their money just taken away like that,\u201d said Concepcion.<\/p>\n

In response to a question about the payment shift, Joana Flores from the MTA Press Office said, \u201cEvery year, there is about $40 million of fare value underutilized from weekly and monthly Metrocards. With the fare-capping feature of the tap-and-go payment method, customers are saving themselves the guessing game from overspending on a fare product they won\u2019t optimally use, and keeping more money in their pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initially, OMNY did have a positive reaction from the public. It didn\u2019t require users to preload a specific balance, allowing people to pay however much they needed at the moment. It also introduced the \u201c12-ride\u201d feature\u2013after 12 paid rides in a week, the next rides are free for the rest of the 7-day period, similar to an unlimited pass without the upfront purchase.<\/p>\n

Compared to OMNY, MetroCards seemed to be more of an inconvenience. According to an MTA press release, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, \u201cTap-and-go-already the choice for 65% of our riders\u2013is not only easier and more convenient to use, it also opens the door for new discounts and promotions that\u2019ll put money back in riders\u2019 pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the contactless system, the MTA is expected to save $20 million in annual operating savings with no worry in production and distribution costs; vending machine repairs; cash collection and handling. The OMNY fare system will also provide \u201cspecial deals\u201d for tourists and a possible loyalty program in the future\u2013similar to airline frequent-flyer programs. It\u2019s also expected to aid the MTA in tracking fare compliance across New York City and reduce fare evasion.<\/p>\n

Although Concepcion, the City College student, initially liked OMNY\u2019s tap-and-go function, she now says MetroCard inconveniences no longer bother her anymore. She simply wants her money back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OMNY cards were rolled out as an easier alternative to the Metrocard. But some subway riders find that’s not the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":7448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,26,1,324],"tags":[486,683,92],"class_list":["post-7426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-featured-column","category-news","category-student-life","tag-cunystudents","tag-omny","tag-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7426"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7476,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7426\/revisions\/7476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}