Politics
Swipe No More: M.T.A. to Stop Selling MetroCards
The transition to the new tap-and-go system for New York City subway and bus riders is expected to save the agency at least $20 million annually, it said.
New Yorkers have long prided themselves on knowing how to successfully swipe their MetroCards on the first pass while tourists fumbled their way through the turnstiles. In their heyday, the yellow cards littered the floors of subway stations and piled up in riders’ wallets.
Now, the MetroCard is finally going the way of the subway token.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the subway and bus systems, announced on Wednesday that it would stop selling the cards at stations on Dec. 31 and in the fall at retail locations such as drugstores and bodegas. The cards debuted in 1993.
Instead of swiping MetroCards at subway turnstiles or on buses, riders will exclusively use the authority’s new tap-and-go system, which was introduced in 2019 and allows customers to pay with digital wallets on their smartphones and watches; a contactless credit or debit card; or a physical tap-and-go OMNY card from the M.T.A.
The transition to the contactless system is expected to save the M.T.A. at least $20 million annually, said its chairman, Janno Lieber.
“It’s time to say goodbye to the MetroCard and go all-in on the fare payment system of the future,” Mr. Lieber said in a statement, adding that 65 percent of riders already use the tap-and-go system.
He said the change “also opens the door for new discounts and promotions that’ll put money back in riders’ pockets.”
