The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will stop selling its MetroCard after Dec. 31, 2025. The agency plans to switch to a fully contactless tap-and-go payment system that will save it $20 million a year.
The tap-and-go payment system will allow riders to pay fees directly with digital wallets and contactless credit and debit cards. Don’t worry, though. If you still prefer to use a physical card, you can buy an OMNY card for $1 and load/reload it at different locations around the city or online.
OMNY is a contactless fare payment system for public transportation in the New York region. It will be accepted on subways, buses, paratransit, and other regional services while the Metro card is phased out.
MetroCards will still be accepted into 2026, but the official final acceptance date has yet to be announced.
There is $40 million of fare value not used annually from weekly and monthly MetroCards. By switching to tap-and-go, customers do not have to prepay for multiple trips to receive a discount and forfeit what they don’t spend.
By the fall of 2025, all 472 subway stations will have an OMNY vending machine. Only one question remains: How soon will people start considering MetroCards Vintage?
