NYC students to receive OMNY cards for the 2024-2025 school year
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — The MTA announced on Monday that all New York City school students will receive OMNY cards instead of Metrocards in the coming school year in September.
The city agency is hoping to expand the contactless fare payment system’s customer base including riders who use Reduced-Fare, Fair Fares, Access-a-Ride and pre-tax commuter benefits.
“Billions of taps prove that OMNY is the most cost-effective and easy way to pay your fare,” said MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara. “We have created a clear path towards a major expansion of OMNY this year to millions more customers including all New York City school students by the start of this upcoming 2024-2025 school year and more.”
The MTA successfully launched two pilot programs to extend OMNY cards to more New Yorkers. On May 1, the MTA unveiled the launch of the Fair Fares pilot on OMNY to collect feedback from participants before expanding it to the city’s 330,00 Fair Fares members.
The agency completed its OMNY Card Vending Machine program in late April, with 70 machines at 37 stations. OMNY vending machines are expected to be in every subway station by mid-2025, the agency shared.
“By treating OMNY as the megaproject that it is, we have turned a corner on delivering its benefits to all categories of customers,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “The new approach is going to give users the sense of interoperability they expect, while limiting MTA’s contractor risk and saving millions of dollars.”
Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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