Everything you need to know about OMNY, the new MTA payment method (purchase, costs)
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I'm with you, kiddo. CHANGE only for the sake of change is stupid, indeed. What are the advantages except for aggravation?
The advantages are massive cost savings for the MTA. The metro card is an obsolete technology. The MTA’s contract with the vendor that services the metro card expired, to maintain the system, the MTA now has to pay out of the wazoo to get replacement parts and service as no private vendor keeps the technology due to it being from the 80s and the rest of the world has moved on.
I’m sorry new technology is frustrating and hard for older folks like you to adapt to, but unfortunately the world doesn’t stop progressing and the MTA needs to keep up with the times if wants to manage costs.
I have an auto fill reduced fare metro card and an OMNY account. Just signed up for a reduced fare OMNY account (email from MTA) when/if it’s rolled out this summer but also put a plug in for the OMNY card. Nothing to do with technology, personal preference.
There's zero reason to keep it. It should have been dumped over a decade ago, but you know, technology and progress is scaaarrryyyyyy....
It's the third decade of the 21st century. It's time we started acting like it.
I'm not saying this is the case here but not everything needs to change just because it can be changed
The only thing I don't like about Metrocards is that they create a lot of litter
I'm not saying this is the case here but not everything needs to change just because it can be changed. The only thing I don't like about Metrocards is that they create a lot of litter
The Metrocard is using technology from the 90s! We are in 2022... Hello?!? From a security and usability perspective, it needs to go. People think it's reliable. It is not and the technology is quite limited. You mentioned litter. Metrocards create a lot of litter, which OMNY will significantly reduce. Being able to pay with a number of different cards or your phone is also a huge improvement, as you will not have to go to a subway station to refill a Metrocard.
The technology is also contactless, which means you don't have to touch anything and you can pay easier if your hands are full. You can keep track of any transaction you make online and know what your balance is as well by checking your OMNY account via the OMNY website. Just about none of this can be done with a Metrocard, and as the years go by, that technology will only continue to become less reliable.
The Metrocard is using technology from the 90s! We are in 2022... Hello?!? From a security and usability perspective, it needs to go. People think it's reliable. It is not and the technology is quite limited. You mentioned litter. Metrocards create a lot of litter, which OMNY will significantly reduce. Being able to pay with a number of different cards or your phone is also a huge improvement, as you will not have to go to a subway station to refill a Metrocard.
The technology is also contactless, which means you don't have to touch anything and you can pay easier if your hands are full. You can keep track of any transaction you make online and know what your balance is as well by checking your OMNY account via the OMNY website. Just about none of this can be done with a Metrocard, and as the years go by, that technology will only continue to become less reliable.
From a security perspective, Metrocard beats OMNY hands down because there's no linkage between you and the card. In fact, the company that puts out Omny, has already been hacked multiple times with PII (personal identifiable information) taken from their servers - once in the Bay Area as far as I can remember. That's why I would prefer an Omny card if only that I can use one without creating an account. Is that even possible?
As for UI, I do like the contactless interaction. At the end of the day though, I just want to pay my fare and enter the system.
I'll end with a tweak of an old saying - "New technology don't mean it's good technology"
From a security perspective, Metrocard beats OMNY hands down because there's no linkage between you and the card. In fact, the company that puts out Omny, has already been hacked multiple times with PII (personal identifiable information) taken from their servers - once in the Bay Area as far as I can remember. That's why I would prefer an Omny card if only that I can use one without creating an account. Is that even possible?
As for UI, I do like the contactless interaction. At the end of the day though, I just want to pay my fare and enter the system.
I'll end with a tweak of an old saying - "New technology don't mean it's good technology"
The Metrocard is also linked to you unless of course you use cash. It still has your travel history and the whatever debit or credit card you use to pay for the transaction, so there's not much of a difference. You only get around it if you use cash. You don't have to create an account to use an OMNY card (as far as I know). I believe you can reload the OMNY card with cash, but you have to go to a store for now to do so. Defeats the purpose of the convenience of reloading it online.
The Metrocard is also linked to you unless of course you use cash. It still has your travel history and the whatever debit or credit card you use to pay for the transaction, so there's not much of a difference. You only get around it if you use cash. You don't have to create an account to use an OMNY card (as far as I know). I believe you can reload the OMNY card with cash, but you have to go to a store for now to do so. Defeats the purpose of the convenience of reloading it online.
Please educate me here - how is the Metrocard linked to you if you use a debit/credit card? I suppose one could link the serial # of the card to your debit/credit. But in order to do that, 1) the turnstiles would have to capture serial information each time you swipe and 2) the vending machines would have to associate your serial # each time you re-up the card by scraping your personal metadata. I don't think the underlying tech of the system is that sophisticated.
Also, where do you even get an OMNY card? None of the token booth clerks seem to know. I was even told to go to Times Square...I go there, and even they don't know.
Please educate me here - how is the Metrocard linked to you if you use a debit/credit card? I suppose one could link the serial # of the card to your debit/credit. But in order to do that, 1) the turnstiles would have to capture serial information each time you swipe and 2) the vending machines would have to associate your serial # each time you re-up the card by scraping your personal metadata. I don't think the underlying tech of the system is that sophisticated.
Also, where do you even get an OMNY card? None of the token booth clerks seem to know. I was even told to go to Times Square...I go there, and even they don't know.
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