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New York Subway Completes Rollout of Apple Pay Support

After suffering substantial delays, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has completed its rollout of Apple Pay support to all buses and subway stations in the city via its OMNY contactless fare payment system.

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With the OMNY contactless payment system, riders are able to hold an iPhone or Apple Watch near a contactless reader to pay their fare with no authentication necessary, allowing for speedy passage through public transit hubs.

OMNY tap-and-go fare payments with ‌Apple Pay‌ Express Transit support became available at one of New York City's major transportation hubs, Penn Station, back in December 2019, followed by a number of other stations in early 2020. The rollout was originally intended to continue, but installation of the new digital readers was paused in late March, delaying completion until December 2020.

The New York installation has now been completed network-wide, according to an OMNY announcement.

At this time, OMNY only works for individual rides and it is not yet possible to pre-pay for an unlimited ride pass. MetroCards, which predate the OMNY system, will continue to work on subway and bus systems until 2023, when it will be fully replaced by OMNY.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Top Rated Comments

alfonsog Avatar
68 months ago

It will be a bigger win when the pandemic’s over and people no longer have to wear masks. Until then, it’s actually less convenient (unless you have a TouchID device).
But you don't have to unlock the phone...
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
audunj Avatar
68 months ago

It will be a bigger win when the pandemic’s over and people no longer have to wear masks. Until then, it’s actually less convenient (unless you have a TouchID device).
You can set a "transit express card" that doesn't require FaceID to use - you just tap and go. I've been using it like that for weeks on my XS and it's super convenient.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Teammm Avatar
68 months ago
Apple Pay is super convenient. Period.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
68 months ago
About damn time. Subways in the states are way behind compared to the rest of the world.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
68 months ago
I love OMNY! I’ve been using it for a while now. However, it’s unclear how OMNY will be utilized when they implement it on commuter rail (metro north/LIRR). Further, I’m disappointed to hear they are delaying the commuter rail expansion to 2022.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
68 months ago

I have to wonder, how fast is this?

I don't live in NYC but have visited many times. MetroCard authentication is instant. Literally slide the card through and insantly *CLUNK* and you go through. There's no delay, and the turnstiles are designed so you can slide the card forward as you walk.

Even the typical 3 second delay that Apple Pay has is a lot slower than a Metrocard swipe.... so I wonder.
It’s fast. And metro card often requires more than one swipe, anyway.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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