OMNY

You must be thinking of Huntington Station.

Mod Note: and back to ticketing and fares with OMNY.

Speaking of OMNY, any bets on how many more years before OMNY spreads to LIRR /MNCR, and when that happens, what it will look like in use? Assuming that MTA doesn't put turnstiles / gates on commuter railroad platforms.

nomis wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 8:13 pm Mod Note: and back to ticketing and fares with OMNY.

Speaking of which, we are now mid-August and with about a month and a half to go (to what the end of September time the MTA gave on the OMNY site) there has yet to be even one OVM (OMNY Vending Machine) installed in a subway station. I wonder what excuse they will have this time.

photobug56 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:25 pm Speaking of OMNY, any bets on how many more years before OMNY spreads to LIRR /MNCR, and when that happens, what it will look like in use? Assuming that MTA doesn't put turnstiles / gates on commuter railroad platforms.

Probably like SEPTA - turnstiles at Grand Central/Penn/Atlantic/Jamaica, validators on platforms at outlying locations. That's how plenty of places in the UK do it as well. Gates at main stations, tap validators elsewhere.

Then what do they need on trains - one train operator,one door person, no one moving within the train or collecting?

SEPTA still validates fares on board - if you don't tap, you get charged a max fare, and they do the same in the UK.

G/T: SEPTA Regional Rail does NOT charge a maximum fare on board for not tapping in before boarding...
The on-board scan by a crew member is to check Key cards for either a "Travel Wallet" pay-per-ride or to
see if the rider has a currently valid Monthly, Weekly or 10-ride Flex Pass in use...A train crew member can
"open" a RRD trip on board if the Key Card was not tapped in before boarding...

One of the problems of the SEPTA Key is that one way cash riders are forced to purchase a SEPTA Key QT
(Quick Trip) on board - one way tickets are NOT available at outlying stations without either TVMs or TOMs.
With the "Ring of Steel" at the five Center City stations anyone that does not possess a ticket must buy a
Exit QT ticket from a TVM inside the "Paid" area of the CCP Stations...

The highest SEPTA Regional Rail one-way fares are to/from Zone NJ - Trenton and West Trenton, NJ.
As example there are NO SEPTA Key readers located at Trenton - NJT does sell on behalf of SEPTA physical
paper tickets for three fare types: Trenton Line Intermediate-All stations Levittown to North Philadelphia;
Center City Philadelphia-30th Street, Suburban and Jefferson (Market East) Station...
Anywhere "Tunnel" tickets to any other RRD station on all lines via Center City Philadelphia...

For more information see the ongoing SEPTA Key topic at the SEPTA Forum...

Getting back to the OMNY topic: It would not surprise me if the gradual conversion to the OMNY system
ends up taking most if not all of the rest of the 2020s decade - there are entire systems that still do not honor
the OMNY card (NICE Bus is a good example) without any timeline for changeover...

I still think that the $5 charge is going to be a deterrent for some riders - with another "sticking point" not
being able to transfer a monetary balance from a Metrocard to an OMNY card - One thought would be a $10
minimum which would be enough to pay for the OMNY card depending on the MTA's conversion timeline...
MACTRAXX

Allan wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2023 6:47 am

nomis wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 8:13 pm Mod Note: and back to ticketing and fares with OMNY.

Speaking of which, we are now mid-August and with about a month and a half to go (to what the end of September time the MTA gave on the OMNY site) there has yet to be even one OVM (OMNY Vending Machine) installed in a subway station. I wonder what excuse they will have this time.

I want do update the information:

The MTA has changed the OMNY site and removed any reference to the OMNY machines being installed during the summer and by the end of September. It has been replaced by: " We will continue to expand OMNY card availability to more retail locations throughout the region, install new vending machines throughout the system, and more."

All I can say is what a mess.

No dates yet, but the first stations slated to get the machines include both the IRT and IND flavored Fordhams, Junction Boulevard, Atlantic Avenue, and 86 and Lex.

The first one was spotted being carted into Fordham on the IRT.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nycrail/commen ... _machines/

I stopped by that station. The machine is in place on the east side of the mezzanine. It is plugged in as the screen is on but the screen and other spots are covered with signs saying the machine is not in service, so I guess some testing is due before customers will be able to use it. I also checked Fordham Rd on the Concourse line but they haven't put a machine there yet.

Once in service, do we have any bets on how long it will take to the first breakdown, and how long it will last? I figure daytime - 2 hours, fixed at least briefly, 2 days.

I'd rather bet on how long it takes before someone actually buys an OMNY card from the machine (that $5.00 fee will turn some people off). I would also wonder how long it will be before someone who already has an OMNY card uses the machine to refill the card.

I'd predict right now that OMNY cards will be very slow to take off and won't pick up until the MTA actually phases out the MetroCard.

Just an update, two OMNY machines (N000008 and N000020) have been installed in the Fordham Rd station of the Concourse line (B/D) last Sunday, 9/24/2023. I saw them being worked on.