MTA's $772M OMNY fare program being 'torn apart' amid delays
A LIRR train arrives at the Ronkonkoma station from Penn Station in February. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The rollout of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new OMNY fare payment system, which was already running four years behind schedule on the Long Island Rail Road, is being “torn apart and put back together,” as transit officials come to grips with the $772 million project being way off track, the MTA’s chairman said Monday.
As the transit agency overhauls the management structure, schedule and budget for the contactless fare system, its predecessor, the MetroCard, is getting a reprieve. After previously planning to phase out the 30-year-old system in 2024, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber vowed not “to pull the plug” on the legacy fare card until the public fully embraces its successor.
“The first thing you’ve got to do when you have a project that’s not succeeding is to be honest with yourself. That’s what we did,” Lieber said at an MTA committee meeting in Manhattan. “The project schedule is going to be torn apart. The staffing is going to be torn apart, and put back together … This is the way you deal with projects that are having some challenges.”
An acronym for One Metro New York, OMNY was introduced in 2019, and is available on all subways and buses. The technology allows riders to pay their fares by tapping a bank card, smartphone or watch. Last month, some 50 million MTA customers used OMNY to pay their fare, according to Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Capital Construction.
But despite some early successes, MTA officials acknowledged that OMNY’s rollout has been beset by “insufficient resources” committed both by the MTA and contractor Cubic, and by constant changes in the scope of the project as technology evolves and customers’ expectations grow.
Those changing demands from riders have been a particular issue on the MTA’s two commuter railroads, the LIRR and Metro-North, which were originally set to adopt the new fare system in early 2021. Last year, the timeline was pushed back to 2025. Torres-Springer said the rollout of OMNY on the LIRR “has taken longer than anyone would have liked because there are so many good uses that OMNY can be put to on the railroads.”
Torres-Springer envisioned LIRR riders being able to use OMNY to pay for their trip onboard a train through the TrainTime app, or at a ticket vending machine. The MTA aspires to have OMNY used across different transit agencies and modes in the region, allowing a traveler to use the same fare system to ride the LIRR, Metro-North, subways and buses.
As part of a “full rebaselining” of OMNY, the MTA is bringing the project into its Capital Construction department, which oversees megaprojects, like the LIRR’s East Side Access. That project, too, was “rebaselined” in 2018, adding $1 billion to its cost. Torres-Springer said the MTA expects to have a new schedule for the project in June, and will also reconsider its budget.
The contractor, Cubic, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although about 40% of transit customers are now using OMNY, Torres-Springer said adoption of the new fare system has lagged among some riders, including bus riders outside of Manhattan who are less likely to have digital wallets or bank accounts to connect with the new fare system. He also acknowledged “frustration” among affiliate transit agencies that use the MetroCard, but have not yet been integrated with OMNY, including Nassau’s NICE Bus system.
Torres-Springer said progress continues to be made, including with new OMNY fare card vending machines that will be available at subway stations this summer. In addition, he said he expects OMNY to be accepted at the AirTrain terminal in Jamaica by Thanksgiving of this year.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
