OMNY will also expand beyond the current scope of the MetroCard to include the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.

The MetroCard, a magnetic stripe card, was first introduced in 1993 and was used to pay fares on MTA subways and buses, as well as on other networks such as the PATH train.

OMNY began its public rollout in May 2019, with the first readers installed at select subway stations and on buses in Staten Island.

The MTA began offering OMNY contactless cards on October 1, 2021, and introduced fare capping on February 28, 2022.

The trial was limited to select Citibank cardholders, but it proved popular enough to be extended past its original end date of December 2006.

The eTix system, already used on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, allows passengers to pay their fares using their phones.

[22] Installation of OMNY vending machines in stations would be pushed back to the summer of 2023, with the discontinuation of MetroCards cancelled as further delays arise with rollout on regional rail and affiliate agencies.

[27] However, goals for broad acceptance have since been hampered, with PATH and NJ Transit unwilling to install OMNY, instead pursuing similar independent systems which would not be compatible with it.

[31]: 83 At a presentation in May 2019, the MTA's Capital Program Oversight Committee specified the following items to be implemented at an unspecified future date: launch a mobile app, allow customers to pay with OMNY Cards on Access-a-Ride paratransit vehicles, and add OMNY readers on Select Bus Service buses to support all-door boarding.

[50] The pandemic delayed the target date for which OMNY would be implemented at all subway stations and MTA bus routes, which was pushed back from October to December 2020.

[60][61] The MTA indicated in September 2023 that OMNY usage was highest in gentrified areas with young, white, and well-off populations.

[63] As of 2019[update], the MTA also plans to use OMNY on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad over "the next several years".

[65] In June 2019, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it was in talks with the MTA to implement OMNY on the PATH by 2022.

According to the MTA's independent engineering consultant, this could potentially delay full rollout of OMNY for six months from the original projected completion date of July 2023.

[71][72] As part of the rollout, OMNY is expected to replace MetroCard on affiliate agencies such as Westchester County's Bee-Line Bus System, and the Nassau Inter-County Express.

[68][74] Rollout to faregates on the AirTrain JFK was planned to occur in 2023, replacing the MetroCard payment requirement to use the system.

[96][97] The MTA announced in May 2024 that students and reduced-fare MetroCard users would begin receiving OMNY cards later that year.

As of December 31, 2020[update], all subway stations, the Staten Island Railway,[h] and all MTA-operated buses are equipped with OMNY readers.

Children under 44" tall ride for free with fare-paying rider; limit is 3[106] except for NYC Ferry[119] and Express Buses.

[130] Reduced-fare customers were also eligible for the unlimited cap by making 12 trips in a week at $1.35 per ride, for a total cost of $16.20.

[122]: Appendix II Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard and OMNY customers cannot make subway-to-subway transfers by exiting the turnstile and entering again, with two exceptions: Until 2011, an extra out-of-system subway-to-subway transfer was allowed in Long Island City, Queens, between 23rd Street–Ely Avenue/Long Island City–Court Square on the IND Queens Boulevard and Crosstown Lines and 45th Road–Court House Square on the IRT Flushing Line.

To allow for operation on vehicles disconnected from the MTA communications network, MetroCards store information about the transfer on the card itself.

OMNY solves this problem by only charging riders once a day,[157] after vehicles have had a chance to return to base and download boarding data.

Though the second entry may display to the rider that the full fare is being charged, as long as the same device was used within the two-hour window, it is discounted when calculating the amount to actually be paid.

[158][159] Under the proposal, an OMNY card or device would be charged a pay-per-ride fare on MTA buses and subways if a passenger has made fewer than a specified number of trips in a certain time period.

[160][161] Since June 1, 2022, riders who qualified for reduced-fare MetroCards could also use OMNY with their contactless bank cards or smart devices, paying half the standard fare.

[163] Privacy advocacy group Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) criticized the MTA and Cubic in an October 2019 report on the privacy of the OMNY system, arguing that it "allows the MTA, and potentially third parties, to collect an alarming amount of information about transit users.

"[164]: 1  STOP expressed concerns that the OMNY privacy policy was unclear, and warned that the MTA could share data with the NYPD and ICE to extend the reach of police surveillance.

[165][166][167] In February 2020, the MTA warned that some customers using Apple Pay's Express Transit feature might be accidentally double-charged if they were using a MetroCard.

STOP founder Albert Fox Cahn criticized the changes to the trip history feature as a half-measure, arguing that it still left user information vulnerable.