OMNY

Then use a credit card with tap ability.

If the OVMs work as they are expected, you can do the refilling at the machine itself at the subway station and not have to worry about if online refills take or not.

I think that the ability to refill at 7-11 stores, Walgreens, Duane Reade and other merchants will remain in place. The only issue there is that many of the store personnel don't know or have trouble doing the refill at the register.

My own intention is to continue to use my reduced fare MetroCard for as long as I can (before the expiration date on the back) before switching over to a reduced fare OMNY card. While I would register the card , I would do the refilling at the OVM .

I'm guessing you should give this all at least 5 years more...

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/new ... -and-more/

Moved to NYC-wide forum; I had no idea this was supposed to be for LIRR and MNRR as well.

MTA's OMNY system faces new delays in connecting LIRR, Metro-North and more

NEW YORK -- The MTA's new contactless payment system for transportation throughout the metropolitan region is facing new delays based on staffing shortages and apparent management failures at the fiscally strapped agency.

It's unclear when the system will connect Metro-North, the Long Island Rail Road and suburban bus systems.

The MTA's much heralded OMNY tap-and-go payment system was on full display at the Columbus Circle subway station Tuesday. Rider after rider was swiping a phone or credit card to ride the rails.

The regional system, however, is way behind schedule. The blame is apparently shared by both the MTA and the company hired to install it.
...
There are also delays in installing OMNY on the MTA's commuter railroads, Metro-North and the LIRR. The MTA recently approved funds to keep the current ticketing system, called TrainTime, in operation until 2026, while it finalizes plans for OMNY.
...
Officials say 44% of MTA customers now use OMNY.

Still nothing viable or safely usable on LIRR other than paper tickets. I won't 'validate' anything electronic until I know I'm aboard and have a seat, and even that's risky, since it's not unusual to load, then stay without going anywhere. And that ignores the constant break downs and long delays.

Just because you choose not to use eTix doesn't make it unsafe to use or unviable. Plenty of people don't bother with the TVMs anymore.

Just as a comment on above, I am an occasional rider of NJT and the majority of riders that I see still use paper tickets. The ones that use an electronic ticket appear mainly to be in their 20s and 30s. I am sure that will apply to MNRR and LIRR as well.

Another reason I won't use rhe app. Poor connectivity in some places.

photobug56 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 13, 2023 2:11 pm Another reason I won't use rhe app. Poor connectivity in some places.

While you can't buy a ticket without being connected to the internet, you can activate one without being connected.

Sure, but I still will never activate a ticket until I'm aboard and know the train has not broken down. And they insist that I activate before boarding. So it's paper for me.

On the LIRR, does anyone check to see that you have an activated ticket before boarding?

Very little experience on the LIRR, but I've used the mTicket on the MBTA commuter rail, and sure, they tell you over and over again that you MUST activate before boarding. But unless there's a rare platform check*, it's irrelevant until a conductor is coming down your car, and it takes seconds to activate. If they never lift tickets in your car, no need to activate and the ticket lives on as available until the expiration date.

*I'm leaving out the "Ring of Steel" faregates at Boston's North Station for purposes of this discussion, but again, that's irrelevant since you'd have to buy a paper ticket to get past them as well.

On Long Island Fail Road, there are so many breakdowns of trains, signals, switches... that you don't really know if the train, even if you can see it, will get to you. Hence, I won't pay until I'm on it; in fact I don't want to pay - activate or get it punched, until I'm seated, and even then it's a gamble as to whether it will get you to Manhattan on time for work. And since I'm in diesel (3rd class) territory, if I'm on a DM going to the Pitts of Penn, odds of a breakdown are pretty good, and if I need to go to GCT-LIRR, no idea if there will be a viable transfer at Jamaica Hell Hole Station.

octr202 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 1:06 pm On the LIRR, does anyone check to see that you have an activated ticket before boarding?

Very little experience on the LIRR, but I've used the mTicket on the MBTA commuter rail, and sure, they tell you over and over again that you MUST activate before boarding. But unless there's a rare platform check*, it's irrelevant until a conductor is coming down your car, and it takes seconds to activate. If they never lift tickets in your car, no need to activate and the ticket lives on as available until the expiration date.

*I'm leaving out the "Ring of Steel" faregates at Boston's North Station for purposes of this discussion, but again, that's irrelevant since you'd have to buy a paper ticket to get past them as well.

Our friend photobug56 tends to exaggerate when talking about LIRR's problems. Speaking as a former commuter I can state that while all of the problems he cites do happen from time-to-time, they are not daily occurrences. With the possible exception of the Diesel trains on his branch which regrettably do have a long history of breakdowns, having been lemons from the start in 1998.

Also I would definitely not characterize Jamaica as a hell hole station. And it's probably better now than in the era when I commuted daily. While the LIRR has very foolishly eliminated timed connections there, I'm sure that in rush-hour you won't have to wait long for a connecting train to arrive. I've done it during non-rush hours and it was not too long a wait, though it was definitely better with specific timed connections.

He has a point about Penn Station. It's a hundred-year old antiquated facility. And while there is currently a modernization program underway, the platforms and stairwells will still be too narrow so it's not the best facility to commute to/from in rush-hours. .

At Jamaica, elevators, etc. are only on the east end and often break down. If you are handicapped, transfers range from hard to impossible. In diesel country, it's not practical to go to GCT LIRR. Penn might get one or two direct rush hour direct trains. And in general, out here we've learned not to trust the next train times.

photobug56 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 6:46 pm At Jamaica, elevators, etc. are only on the east end and often break down. If you are handicapped, transfers range from hard to impossible. In diesel country, it's not practical to go to GCT LIRR. Penn might get one or two direct rush hour direct trains. And in general, out here we've learned not to trust the next train times.

You do have a valid point about the elevators. I'm waiting to see how much of a nightmare their maintenance becomes at the Main-Line stations between Floral Park and Hicksville where multiple elevators have been installed at the rebuilt stations. I fear the maintenance and repair will not be as ambitious as their construction was.