You might have come across the ominous acronym OMNY before. It stands for “One Metro New York”. OMNY is the newly introduced universal system of payment for the Subway (Metro) and the buses in all of New York City. Find out all about OMNY here: how it works, how to use it, and what it changes for your next trip to New York trip!
UPDATE: Since August 2023, the fare cap also works beyond the weekend! Previously, this was only valid from Monday to Sunday – now also from Thursday to Wednesday of the following week, for example.
OMNY Metro New York in a nutshell
will replace the MetroCard for the Subway & MTA buses in 2026
until Dec. 31st, 2025, MetroCard will still work as well
contactless payment directly via credit card, smartphone, or smart watches
payment is possible via Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Fitbit Pay.
Long Island Rail Road trains and Metro-North Railroad to be supported later this year
Is the OMNY valid everywhere?
You can use the One Metro New York (OMNY) on any New York City bus and all New York City Subway lines, regardless of which of the boroughs you are traveling in New York.
How much does One Metro New York cost?
The OMNY service itself is free. Prices stay the same: a single ride is $2.90.
Paying with cash will still be supported in the future, albeit via a detour: at designated stations, use cash to top up your contactless OMNY Card. Then, you can enter the Subway stations using this card.
How to use OMNY on the subway
At every subway station and on the bus, you’ll find the new OMNY terminals in front of the MetroCard readers. All you have to do is hold your contactless credit card, smartphone or watch close to the display (at the “TAP HERE” point), the corresponding amount will be charged and you can board the platform.
You can recognize this by the fact that the OMNY reader lights up green and a “GO” flashes up:
The OMNY in the video
The OMNY-Card’s (surprisingly entertaining) instruction video is definitely worth a watch!
How the OMNY works
By the way: I also recommend doing the same for the NYC Ferry, so you can effortlessly order tickets for it on the spot via your smartphone without having to wait in line!
Also: Take a look at my NYC Ferry-Guide, where I give you an overview of all the options and highlights.
My honest thougts on the OMNY
Contactless payment is already commonplace in many areas, and I think it’s good that you can now actually pay quite easily with your watch, credit card or phone. In cities like London and Tokyo, this is also quite normal.
The only “downside” to all of this is that with the loss of the iconic yellow MetroCards there is a bit of nostalgia disappearing from the city.
Der Beitrag OMNY Metro New York – The Complete Guide 2025 erschien zuerst auf Loving New York.
