NICE bus riders lose double free transfer option due to new OMNY system

A glitch in the NICE Bus’ new fare payment system is causing some customers to pay twice as much to complete their trips, riders and officials said.

The problem is affecting riders whose commutes require taking two Nassau buses and a subway. Previously, riders using a MetroCard could complete that trip paying one fare and receiving two free transfers.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority stopped selling MetroCards in December as it migrated to its new fare payment system, OMNY, which allows riders to pay with the tap of a phone, OMNY card or contactless credit or debit card.

After years of delays, the Nassau Inter-County Express, or NICE, finally adopted OMNY in January, at the same time as the cost of a bus ride increased to $3 from $2.90. Although NICE and MTA officials promoted OMNY as a major improvement over the MetroCard, customers switching between NICE and MTA buses or subways soon discovered that they were no longer receiving two free transfers.

Switching buses at the Mineola Intermodal Center to get to his security guard job at Roosevelt Field, Louis Simon, of Jamaica, said the glitch has doubled the cost of his daily commute from $6 to $12.

"Now it costs me twice as much monthly to get to work than it did before," said Simon, 37, who has run into other problems with OMNY, including fare reading devices rejecting payment, and being overcharged for some trips.

Aware of problem

NICE, which serves about 80,000 riders a day, acknowledged the problem and said they were working on a fix, according to spokesman Mark Smith.

"The ultimate intent is still to offer two transfers," Smith said. "We became aware of the issue with transfers which was traced to a programming error by the technology provider during the transition and immediately began working with them to identify the problem."

The MTA introduced OMNY in 2019 as the successor to the 30-year-old MetroCard. In addition to allowing riders to pay for their trip with the tap of a phone or card, the new system comes with other benefits, including automatic fare capping that allows customers to ride for free after paying for 12 rides in a seven-day period.

But the MTA has run into numerous problems with the technology firm Cubic, which was hired for $772 million to develop OMNY. Among the issues were lengthy delays in the rollout of the new fare system on MTA-affiliated transit providers, like NICE, which was initially expected to have OMNY in place by 2020.

Neither officials with Cubic nor the MTA responded to requests for comment.

Charlton D’souza, president of Passengers United, a transit rider advocacy group, said the loss of a second free transfer for Nassau bus customers is the latest evidence of NICE’s rollout of OMNY being "botched."

"Some people are now paying $12 a day to commute. That’s crazy," said D’souza, who has been hit with the double fare. "At that point, people might as well take the railroad."

Before boarding an n40 bus at Mineola on Wednesday, Milton Valenzuela said he wasn’t aware of the lost free transfer, but would have to "find a way" to afford the extra fare if it came to that.

"Uber and things like that are really expensive," Valenzuela, 20, said. "It’s supposed to be that the bus is cheaper. And now the difference is becoming less."

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

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.