MTA's Unlimited Rides OMNY Pilot Plan Goes To Vote Wednesday

NEW YORK CITY — A MTA pilot program that would provide passenger with unlimited rides using the transit authority’s tap-and-pay OMNY system once they spend enough will go into effect in March if the program is approved by the board on Wednesday.

Under the program, commuters who have been using the OMNY system for single rides will ride for free once they have paid $33 in fares (12 trips in a week), MTA officials said. The pilot program will initially only be available on full-fare subways and local buses and only applies to passengers using the contact-free payment system rather than prepaid 7-day MetroCards.

The seven-day period would begin at 12 a.m. on Monday and runs through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, MTA officials said. To get the free, unlimited rides once having paid $33 in fares, the same contactless bank card, smart device or OMNY card must be used.

OMNY is scheduled to replace MetroCards in 2023. Its readers allow riders to pay by smartphone, smartwatch, credit or debit card tap or the new OMNY card. Customers will be able to track their progress toward reaching unlimited rides on the OMNY website. Once logged on, they will see a more detailed trip history and information if you register for an OMNY account.

MetroCard users have had the option of unlimited rides once they pay for a $37 weeklong or $127 for a full month, but MTA officials hope that the free unlimited ride OMNY pilot entices riders to move over to the touchless fare system.

If approved by board members during Wednesday’s meeting, the pilot program would begin on March 1, 2022, and would run for four months.

MTA officials are hoping to move closer to pre-pandemic ridership, when 5.5 million users relied on MTA for transportation. Gothamist reported that 3.3 million used public transit last week. Officials have committed to not raising rates until 2023 and have vowed not to cut service.

But the transit authority is attempting to entice riders back after the pandemic and commitment not to hike fares is costing MTA between $3 million and $5 million a month, according to the Gothamist report.