Retirement party held for MetroCard

NEW YORK (PIX11) -- 4.6 million people took the subway on Thursday, which made it the busiest day since COVID.

10% of them paid with a MetroCard. 

MTA officials welcomed riders on Friday to a MetroCard retirement party in the station concourse at Rockefeller Center.  

After December 31st, riders cannot reload or purchase MetroCards. It has been in use for 32 years. 

The swipe will still work in 2026. A date for the last swipe has not been announced yet.

MTA statistics show that an average of 87% of riders use ONMY (One Metro New York) to tap and ride with an electronic wallet on a device or directly tapping a credit or debit card on the reader at the turnstile. 

The 3 billionth user of the ONMY system was also recognized during the festivities. 

Russell Levy is a daily rider and OMNY user. “I remember the old days when you got a bent card and pushed it through. Now it’s just seamless,” Levy said. 

Adding to the party atmosphere, some of New York’s favorite eateries brought snacks to share with riders in the area. The vendors are Alidoro, Carvel, Golden Krust, Gong Cha, Stretch Pizza, and Zabar’s, and have specials at some locations.  

Commuters also voiced some concerns about tap and pay, including the delay in posting charges. 

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber says the software upgrade completed at the beginning of October by the contractor who designed and manages OMNY moved the system from servers to the cloud. 

“The update, we believe, will have changed the frequency of the challenges. We are getting reports that things are getting processed much more quickly and the backlog has been virtually eliminated,” Lieber said. 

Riders can log into an account and register a credit/debit card or an actual OMNY card. 

It displays trip and payment history, and riders can see how many rides are left until the fare cap kicks in after 12 rides. 

Riders with questions, problems, or balances on cards can visit the special MTA Customer Service Centers throughout the system. 30 will be open by the end of the year. Click here to see the locations. 

 MTA Chief Customer Service Officer Shanifah Rieara says more customer service agents are on the job. “You no longer have to mail it in or travel to Lower Manhattan offices on Stone Street,” she said. 

Riders can call 511 for information.