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[CNJRoss]

WCBS-TV New York  via YouTube
 

MTA Expanding OMNY Card Readers

 

Dec. 11, 2019

 

The MTA is expanding its OMNY fare system to dozens of stations, including Penn Station.

 

[CNJRoss]

gothamist, 1/8/20
 

Some Subway Riders Are Being Double-Charged Thanks To Greedy OMNY Scanners

 

 

Amid yawning budget deficits and chronic equipment failures, the MTA's brightest development as of late may be its contactless fare payment system. The new tech, known as OMNY, celebrated its 5 millionth tap this week—a milestone that far outpaced the agency's "most ambitious internal estimates," per an exultant press release.

 

The only problem? At least some of those fares seem to have been billed to riders without their knowledge.

 

Multiple people tell Gothamist that they'd recently swiped through the system with an old-fashioned MetroCard, only to later realize that they were charged by OMNY on top of their standard fare. The double-billing appears to be the result of the system's overly-sensitive scanner, which is scooping up fares from OMNY-enabled smartphones and credit cards even as straphangers use other means of payment.

 

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[CNJRoss]

ABC-TV New York, 1/9/20
 

MTA's OMNY system can double-charge commuters who use MetroCard

 

 

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The MTA is warning commuters about an Apple Pay feature that could lead to a double charge when you enter the New York City subway system.

SNIP

The problem is some customers have tapped the turnstile unintentionally -- including phones in pockets where the person is tall enough for their device to align with the reader -- while using a traditional MetroCard, resulting in a double charge.

"We've been notified by about 30 customers out of more than 5 million taps so far about unintended charges," an MTA spokesperson said in a statement.

 

More here with video report.

[CNJRoss]

AppleInsider, 1/8/20
 

Apple Pay Express Transit users hit with unintended charges at New York City turnstiles

 

A small number of subway riders in New York City this week complained of a bug in Metro Transit Authority (MTA) tap-and-go turnstiles that inadvertently activates the Apple Pay Express Transit feature on user iPhones, resulting in double billing.

 

 

The MTA's One Metro New York, or OMNY, contactless fare readers are scanning rider iPhones even if the device is in a purse or pocket, reports the Gothamist. Those who experienced the error complain of charges on both a swiped MetroCard and through Apple Pay.

Express Transit enables iPhone and Apple Watch owners to conduct touchless terminal transactions without unlocking or waking their device.

 

SNIP

 

"The system is a popular success that's working well for the vast majority of people and we're in touch with Apple about addressing the issue of unintended taps," Putre said.

An Apple spokesperson told the publication Apple Pay Express Transit has not encountered issues in other cities. The feature is currently rolling out to select metropolitan areas after a U.S. debut in Portland last May.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

OMNY Update: February 2020

 

Feb. 2, 2020

mtainfo

 

The OMNY rollout continues with new stations in the Bronx. This month, we're completing the 6 line from 3 Av - 138 St to Pelham Bay Park, and bringing OMNY to the 2 and 5 between 3 Av - 149 St and Wakefield-241 St.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

NY MTA news release 3/2/20

 

MTA Announces OMNY Coming to All Manhattan Local Buses & More Subway Stations in 4 Boroughs This Month as System Surpasses 10 Million Taps

 

 

Activation Slated for More Than 600 Buses Serving More Than 30 Routes 
Second Borough-Wide Bus Activation Since Staten Island Last May 
Project Remains on Time and On Budget

 

 

 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that the OMNY contactless fare payment system will go live on all Manhattan local buses as well as subway stations in four boroughs by the end of this month. The news comes on the heels of the OMNY system reaching the significant milestone of 10 million taps in the past week, far surpassing expectations and showing accelerating growth. 

 

This month's bus activation will put OMNY on more than 600 buses on more than 30 routes. The expansion to Manhattan local buses represents a dramatic increase in points where it’s possible to use OMNY to make free transfers between subways and buses, which is made fast and easy by the contactless technology.

 

“This is another major milestone in the transformation of the NYC bus system,” said Craig Cipriano, Acting Senior Vice President of Buses for MTA New York City Transit and President of the MTA Bus Company. “As we work hard expanding bus priority and redesigning our bus system throughout the city, modernized fare payment is a key piece of how we can speed up buses and bring customers to our system.”

 

“The OMNY rollout remains on time and we aren’t resting on our laurels. We continue to move full speed ahead, having just exceeded 10 million taps and expecting to rapidly surpass that pace in the weeks and months to come,” said Al Putre, OMNY Executive. “This month, everyone from daily Manhattan bus riders to diehard Mets fans will get to experience the magic of OMNY. No more waiting in lines at MetroCard machines. Just tap your smart phone, wearable device or contactless credit or debit card and go.”  

 

While the installation of OMNY readers and equipment will continue throughout the month, OMNY will be activated on buses across the whole borough simultaneously at the end of the month. This expansion to Manhattan buses is hoped to attract new ridership by allowing visitors to New York City and anyone who doesn’t normally carry a MetroCard to hop on a bus with a spontaneity that was never possible before.

 

After first launching on May 31, 2019, OMNY's first five million taps were recorded over 31 weeks, while the second five million were recorded in only eight weeks, showing a dramatic acceleration in the growth and popularity of the system.  The OMNY system has recorded roughly three million taps in the month of February alone. Customers from 130 countries outside the U.S. and every single continent other than Antarctica have already used the system. In the last week of February, the system recorded its first set of weekdays with over 150,000 taps per day.

 

On the subway, more than 200 subway stations are expected to have OMNY by month’s end. Customers along the 5 line starting at Morris Park and all the way to the end of the line at Eastchester-Dyre Av. will be the first to get OMNY in March. After the completion of 5 line work, OMNY will be installed along the 2 3 lines in Harlem, lower Manhattan and parts of downtown Brooklyn. This expansion will provide a more complete network for 2 3 riders, as large swaths of those lines are already equipped with OMNY readers.

 

OMNY will also be enabled at stations on the A  and C lines in Brooklyn, from Hoyt-Schermerhorn to Euclid Av, providing customers with key connections to stations on the G J Z and L in the process. Toward the end of the month, two key stations along the 77line will also get OMNY in Queens. Both Mets-Willets Point and Flushing Main St. are expected to be ready just in time for Mets Opening Day at Citi Field, further encouraging the use of mass transit to large events by visitors who may not normally carry MetroCards. 

 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT MTA FARE PAYMENTS AND OMNY:

• A list of all subway stations and bus routes where OMNY is currently in use is at this link: https://omny.info/system-rollout
• The MetroCard was first tested in the system in 1993, debuting to the larger public in January 1994. All turnstiles were MetroCard-enabled by May 1997 and all buses began accepting it by the end of 1995. Tokens were sold until April 2003 and acceptance was discontinued that May in subway stations and that December on buses.
• OMNY readers accept contactless cards from companies such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, as well as digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Fitbit Pay.
• Following the completion of OMNY installation at all subway turnstiles and on buses, the MTA will introduce all remaining fare options, including unlimited ride passes, reduced fares, student fares, and more.
• In 2021, the MTA will introduce an OMNY card at retail locations throughout the New York region.
• Also in 2021, the MTA will begin to install new vending machines at locations throughout the system.
• Only after OMNY is fully available everywhere MetroCard is today, expected in 2023, will the MTA say goodbye to the MetroCard.

 

Purchasing your fare with cash will always be an option. Additional info about OMNY is available at OMNY.info.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading 3/3/20

 

MTA to extend OMNY fare system to 200 subway stations

 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) yesterday announced that by March 31 its One Metro New York (OMNY) contactless fare payment system will be installed at more than 200 MTA New York City Transit subway stations.

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Verge,3/16/20
 

The NYC subway’s new tap-to-pay system has a hidden cost — rider data

 

OMNY will collect a significant amount of information from riders, including smartphone device identifiers and location

 

 

NewNew York City’s subway system, a 24/7 behemoth that logs a billion and a half trips per year, is synonymous with archaic technology, from a signals system that dates to the Great Depression era to rail cars in service for more than four decades. The introduction last year of OMNY, a $574 million new contactless payment system for city buses and subways, bucks that trend.

 

However, experts say the OMNY payment scheme is rife with problems, based on the limited information about the system made public in its terms of service and privacy policy. The collection of significant amounts of information from users, including smartphone device identifiers and location, which, coupled with payment and transportation data, could be used to map out riders’ patterns of life in minute detail and create a privacy nightmare.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading 7/16/20

 

NYCT activates contactless fare system at Bronx subway stations

 

 

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) last week activated its One Metro New York (OMNY) contactless fare payment system at all subway stations in the Bronx, New York. 

 

More than 60 percent of all subway stations are now equipped with OMNY, with 2,820 OMNY readers systemwide, NYCT officials said in a press release.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading 8/13/20

 

NYCT expands contactless fare payment system

 

Roughly two-thirds of NYCT stations are equipped with the OMNY contactless fare payment system. Photo – MTA

 

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) yesterday announced that 310 subway stations, or roughly two-thirds of the system’s stations, are now equipped with the agency’s One Metro New York (OMNY) contactless fare payment system. 

 

OMNY fare validators allow riders to pay their fare using contactless bank cards, smart phones and wearable devices. OMNY will ultimately replace the MetroCard fare card in 2023, NYCT officials said in a press release.

 

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