MTA approves NYC fare-capping pilot for OMNY starting March 1 - silive.com

2021-12-25 08:43:37 By : Mr. EJ Marketing

The MTA will launch a fare-capping pilot program for OMNY starting March 1. (Staten Island Advance/Erik Bascome)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Soon New York City transit riders will have to pay no more than $33 a week for unlimited rides on the MTA’s local buses and subways.

On Wednesday, the MTA announced it will launch a fare-capping pilot program for OMNY, the agency’s contactless fare payment system, that would grant bus and subway riders free rides once they’ve paid for 12 trips within a given week.

“Our fare structure is an important tool we have to win back riders,” said Janno Lieber, MTA acting chair and CEO. “Business logic says it doesn’t make sense to increase the price just as you’re trying to rebuild your customer base. So, we’re leaving the basic fare alone for now and rolling out a slate of new pilot fare promotions.”

Currently, OMNY users can only use the tap-and-go system for single rides, which cost $2.75, frustrating commuters who typically rely on weekly or monthly unlimited MetroCards.

The weekly and monthly unlimited MetroCards, which cost $33 and $127, respectively, allow the MTA’s most frequent riders to pay upfront for an unlimited number of rides within the given timespan, offering savings to those who swipe more than 12 times a week or 46 times a month.

No such option has yet been made available for OMNY, meaning riders who tap more than 12 times a week or 46 times a month can’t enjoy the same savings as those using unlimited MetroCards.

That’s where the new fare capping pilot program comes in.

Fare capping, which has been implemented in other transit hubs like London, limits the total amount of fares that riders can be charged within a given timespan, with all subsequent rides being granted free-of-charge.

Starting March 1, OMNY users will be charged $2.75 per ride for their first 12 trips of the week, starting every Monday.

Once the rider has paid for 12 trips, all subsequent trips will be free through the following Sunday.

The fare capping pilot program will apply to all local buses, subway lines and the Staten Island Railway.

The MTA will retain its current free transfer policy, but all two-part trips linked by a free transfer will only count as one trip towards the 12 needed to reach the free-ride requirement.

The fare capping pilot program will run for a minimum of four months, at which point it will be evaluated and then either made permanent, adjusted, or discontinued.

OMNY, the MTA’s new contactless fare payment, has been rolled out in phases over the past two years, and is now available systemwide at all 472 subway stations, on all 5,800 buses and at all Staten Island Railway stations.

The system allows users to use contactless cards, smartphones or other smart devices to simply tap to pay their fare on all buses and subways throughout the MTA system, as opposed to dipping or swiping a MetroCard.

Currently, approximately 25% of all fare payments are coming via the OMNY system, which has seen well over 100 million taps since implementation.

In October, the MTA began distributing OMNY cards to retailers across the five boroughs, giving New Yorkers their first look at the sleek new card that will be used to tap onto the city’s buses and subways in the years to come.

Purchasing an OMNY card will cost commuters $5, plus whatever monetary value they elect to load onto the card.

The OMNY cards can be refilled at the retail locations where they’re purchased or online by creating an OMNY account and linking the card.

The MTA has started shipping the new OMNY cards to retail locations throughout the city, like chain drug stores, check-cashing sites and local delis where MetroCards are currently available for purchase.

An MTA spokesman cautioned that once the cards are shipped to a location, the agency does not have control over whether they’re immediately made available for purchase, meaning some locations that received the cards may not have yet put them up for sale.

For now, those seeking an OMNY card may need to ask around at places where they’ve previously purchased MetroCards to see if the new card is currently available at that location.

In the coming months, the MTA will roll out an online tool that will allow customers to view retailers in their area that have been stocked with OMNY cards, similar to the existing MetroCard Merchant Locator, according to the spokesman.

Soon, the MTA will begin installing OMNY vending machines at subway stations and other transit hubs throughout the city, granting commuters a quick and easy way to purchase and refill their card.

It’s currently unclear where the OMNY vending machines will be installed on Staten Island, a borough that has MetroCard vending machines installed at just two locations — the St. George Ferry Terminal and the Eltingville Transit Center.

Though many people are excited to get their hands on the new card, there’s only a small number of commuters who will actually need them, and even those people don’t need them just yet.

The vast majority of commuters will never need to purchase an OMNY card if they don’t want one; they can continue paying their fare with their smart device or their own contactless card.

The only people who will need an OMNY card are those without a bank account who have no other means of contactless payment and exclusively use cash to fund their transit trips.

But even these people have over a year to purchase and fill their OMNY card, with the MTA continuing to support the MetroCard for the next year-plus, before completely phasing it out in 2023.

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