Technology

Contactless payments program usage rises on New York subway

August 26, 2020

New York subway riders using Omny, a contactless payment service, has risen by 168% since August 2019, and by 50% since May 2020.

The MTA introduced the payment service in May 2019 as a pilot program and to date, 310 stations are equipped with Omny contactless readers, according to a report in NFCW.

The Omny rollout program was suspended for six weeks due to COVID-19 pandemic, but the program resumed again in June.

"We've maintained laser focus on this project the day we launched the public pilot at the end of last May," Al Putre, program executive for the MTA's Omny program said in the report. "Not even a pandemic can stop the Omny express rollout. I'm eager to continue at maximum speed and complete the final third of the game-changing new fare payment system by the end of the year."

The rollout, which also includes service to all MTA buses, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020.