New York Subway Pass: How OMNY Works on Subway and Buses

OMNY is New York's new contactless payment system for public transit. The name stands for «One Metro New York.» It lets you pay for the subway with your phone and other devices, which makes life a whole lot easier.

It has been rolling out gradually since 2019, coexisting with the traditional MetroCard. That meant you could choose which of the two payment systems to use on New York's subway and buses.

But starting in 2026, OMNY will be the only payment system on NYC transit, since the MetroCard will stop being distributed at the end of 2025.

Below I'll walk you quickly through how OMNY works, so you can learn to use the modern payment system for New York transit that will soon replace the MetroCard entirely.

How does OMNY work?

The OMNY system lets you pay for rides on the New York subway and New York City buses with credit cards, debit cards, and mobile devices enabled for contactless payments (NFC). There's no app to download, and there is no OMNY app at all!

To ride, just tap a contactless credit or debit card, a smartphone, a smartwatch, or an OMNY card on the readers at subway entrances and on buses, and you're in. Again, no registration and no apps to download.

Down the road, OMNY New York will also handle payments on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad. As you can see, the idea is to centralize payment for all of New York's public transit in a single system.

How do you pay with OMNY New York?

Paying with OMNY is dead simple. Just tap a card, phone, or smartwatch that supports contactless payments on the OMNY readers, also known as tap-and-pay or NFC readers, located on the subway turnstiles and at the front of buses.

The payment methods OMNY accepts are these:

Contactless bank cards

You can pay with any contactless bank card. You'll recognize them by the radio wave symbol (Radio Frequency Identification, RFID) on the front or back of the card.

Digital wallets on mobile devices

You can also pay with any mobile device that has NFC technology and a compatible digital wallet like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.

OMNY card

You also have the option of buying an OMNY card. This works if you'd rather not use your bank cards or mobile devices.

You can buy an OMNY card at places like CVS pharmacies and reload it with cash whenever you need to.

Right now there aren't many places selling the physical card. The whole point of OMNY is to digitize New York's transit system and discourage cash.

OMNY fares and prices

Each ride with OMNY costs the same as a MetroCard ride ($2.90).

OMNY currently has no weekly or monthly unlimited passes like the MetroCard, but it does have a very handy system if you know how to work it: the fare cap.

What is the OMNY weekly fare cap?

Fare capping is a 7-day fare limit: you pay for a maximum of 12 rides ($34) over 7 straight days of use. Every additional ride in that period is free. As you can see, it's the same price as the 7-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCard.

This OMNY flexible fare program (fare capping) counts 7 consecutive days, no matter which day you start using it.

In other words, the 7 days start counting from the first day you use the system. For example, if you start on a Saturday you can ride as much as you want through the following Friday, paying a maximum of $34.

Don't forget that for fare capping to work you have to use the same payment method all 7 days. Paying with your credit card one day and your digital wallet the next won't work, even if the wallet is linked to that same credit card!

How to transfer using OMNY

The same free transfer rules as the MetroCard apply: you get one subway-to-bus, bus-to-subway, or bus-to-bus connection within 2 hours of your first tap on the OMNY reader.

That said, for the free transfer to work you have to use the same payment method on each leg of the trip. Keep in mind that a trip with a connection counts only once toward the weekly fare cap calculation.

How many people can ride at once with OMNY?

OMNY lets you pay for up to 4 people at the same time with a single card or mobile device. If there are more of you, you'll need another payment method to get everyone through.

What you need to keep in mind is that only the first ride counts toward the weekly cap, or fare capping. The others are charged separately. For that reason, if you plan to take a lot of rides during a week, it's better for each traveler to pay separately so everyone benefits from the $34 weekly cap.

Look at this example to see why paying all together isn't a good idea:

• A family of 4 takes 15 rides together in one week (60 rides total)
• The $34 cap applies to only one traveler: 15 rides will cost $34
• The remaining 45 rides (15 x 3 travelers) are charged at $2.90 each = $130.50
• TOTAL PAYING WITH THE SAME PAYMENT METHOD: $164.50

By contrast, if each member of that family had used their own payment method, all of them would have hit the weekly cap and paid $34 x 4 = $136 total. That's $28.50 less!

If you'll only be taking a few rides (fewer than 12 among all of you), it makes no difference whether you pay together or separately.

Can you ride the AirTrain JFK with OMNY?

Yes, but the cost of the AirTrain ride is charged separately ($8.25) and doesn't count toward the $34 weekly fare cap.

Can you pay for express buses with OMNY?

Yes, but the express bus fare ($7 each way) is charged separately and also doesn't count toward the $34 weekly cap.

What will happen to the MetroCard?

Through 2025 the New York subway MetroCard, the traditional transit card, will keep coexisting with OMNY, at least until the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officially announces the final date for using the MetroCard in New York. As soon as they do, I'll let you know.

They've already announced that 2025 will be the MetroCard's last year, but they said the same thing last year 🤦🏻‍♀️

For now, you can still use the MetroCard on the subway and buses in New York.

There's still time to say goodbye to the MetroCard little by little and to try out paying with OMNY on your next trips to NYC.

But at some point you'll have to use the OMNY system, so I put together this guide on how OMNY works: payment methods, fares, and most importantly, tips for tourists.

Tips for tourists

OMNY is still a system in testing in New York, so new fare passes and other rules could show up. Keep an eye out here, because I'll post every time there's an update to OMNY New York.

While the MetroCard is still working, I'd recommend sticking with it in these cases:

• If several of you are traveling for a week and each of you will take more than 12 rides, it's better for everyone to buy their own Unlimited Ride MetroCard, because with OMNY the bill ends up higher (remember that the $34 weekly cap applies only to the first traveler)
• If you pay with an international card, keep in mind that foreign transaction fees and surcharges can apply, making your fare more expensive. You can buy a MetroCard with cash at the vending machines.

I'll tell you how OMNY works out for me on my next trip, because even though I'll keep using my beloved MetroCard, I'm not leaving New York without trying this new system designed to speed up getting around NYC, and which will soon be the only way to pay.