OMNY

Normally I would not post a link to another forums conversations but I think you should see the big problems people are having using their contactless cards and smart phones.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OMNY/comments/ ... them_1925/


I guess some will call this 'teething problems', I call the whole project a disaster and now say MetroCards will be be around for a number of years to come.

(Hopefully, the OMNY Card itself will work better).

They had a systemwide issue yesterday.

No different than when the credit card processing on the MVMs go to pot and people have multiple pending charges.

GirlOnTheTrain wrote: ↑Tue May 24, 2022 11:30 am They had a systemwide issue yesterday.

No different than when the credit card processing on the MVMs go to pot and people have multiple pending charges.

This is the retired banker in me responding:

It is different because in the case of MVMs crashing , the customer would not get any notification from anyone that there is an issue.

In the case of the Reddit postings I linked to earlier it is obvious that those who posted about messages have registered their cards (with their email address) on the OMNY site.

Hopefully the OMNY problems won't happen too often (or worse the erroneous charges actually get posted to the customer's account at their bank). Something like that could prompt some to opt for an OMNY card (which will be easier to control what is happening).

You think these customers don't compulsively check their bank accounts and scream at the station agent that they have multiple pending charges? It happens with both OMNY and broken MVMs. As soon as a transaction fails at the MVM they're screaming about the pending charge.

MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Sun May 22, 2022 10:49 pm In my opinion a NYCT Token would have been the perfect "single ride" instead of the entry paper cards sold in MVMs...

The single ride MetroCard is much like the SEPTA "QuickTrip", which is considered as a single cash fare
(no transfer)in the tariff.

PATH has its own single trip fare (similar to but different than a single ride MetroCard), 2-trip (round trip)
MetroCards are also available, for PATH only.

TTC still accepts exact cash fares at stations, though tokens are no longer sold they remain valid.

In comparison, WMATA SmarTrip and MTA Maryland CharmCards have stored fares and multi-trip tickets. MTA Maryland also lets you store a ride ticket for Light Rail on a CharmCard. They still have tokens (no longer minted) but I think for buses only -- I don't think you can redeem them at the TVM's for a ride ticket.

The section in quotes I got from the FAQ section on the OMNY site.

Maybe I am missing something but it appears the middle paragraph is contradicting the first and third.
Wouldn't someone (let's say tourist with 3 other people) uses their debit card on an OMNY reader (their very first time using the subway). The first and third paragraphs says they can, yet the middle one says no as it would be considered a new payment method.


"Can I still pay for multiple with OMNY?

Yes. The same pass-back rules that apply to MetroCard also apply to OMNY. You can tap and pay for yourself and up to 3 additional riders with the same payment method on a single trip. You will need to tap your payment method for each person that is riding with you. Each tap will result in a full-fare charge. Each person will also be eligible for free transfers. Taps and transfers cannot be moved between OMNY and MetroCard.

Important: If you are using a new payment method, you will not be able to perform pass-backs when you use that payment method for the first time. This is because the system must have a record of your payment method before you can perform pass-backs.

Important: You are limited to tapping and paying for yourself and 3 additional riders with the same payment method at a single OMNY reader. You may continue using the same payment method at a different OMNY reader. However, if you do so, the 4 free transfers associated with the original 4 taps will be forfeited. If you are traveling with more than 3 additional riders, it is recommended that you use multiple payment methods to prevent the forfeiture of free transfers. Each payment method can support up to 4 riders and 4 free transfers on a single trip."

Nothing is contradictory.

The first time you tap the card using OMNY you're only going to be able to use it for one person, so plan accordingly. Any subsequent trips you'll be able to pay for 4 people on a single card/device because the system will recognize the payment method.

It doesn't explicitly say so but I'm pretty sure it's a fraud-prevention measure. As for paragraph 3 - if you're traveling with 8 people point to point on one mode of transportation, that's fine. Just don't try to do the walking transfer from 59 to Lexington/63 or get on a bus with those 8 people using the same card because the transfers won't work.

So, in other words, if you are visiting NYC with 3 other people and want to use OMNY for the subway and never paid that way before - forget it - you're stuck after the first fare payment.

That is 100% wrong. If they keep coming up with such crazy restrictions then OMNY will be revealed as a failure (which the MTA won't ever admit to).

Don't get me wrong I like the idea of contactless card payment I used PATH's SmartLink for years when I worked in Newport (Jersey City) and the laundry room in my apartment building also uses contactless cards. But the way the MTA is rolling out OMNY is wrought with problems that is going to backfire on them.
I think Metrocards will be around longer than the MTA is indicating.

You are aware that PATH and NJ Transit want nothing to do with OMNY.

IMHO, and I've sat through numerous discussions, calls, etc., OMNY is already a huge stinking mess. From the viewpoint of a project manager, first they started making them and rolling them out, then they started planning for what they should do, how they should do it, and how quickly they could dump the Metro Cards. As part of the planning, they should have reached agreements with PATH, NJT, NICE, and within MTA, figured out the connections for bus, subway, express bus, LIRR and MNCR. I recall from meetings phrases like 'we expect to' and the like long before they fully knew what it needed to do and what it would take. I spent 20 plus years programming, on both new systems and antiquated systems, developing interfaces between old and new, and the like. None of it is easy, they take lots of knowledge of all the 'nodes'. They seem to still be doing the basic research.

I agree with your assessment. During my career, although by profession I am a financial analyst, I was involved in systems development and implementation, and from what I get from the OMNY rollout is that is is poorly planned/executed and they are playing it all by ear as new issues come up.

Absolutely no reason there shouldn't be one card for the northeast. Clipper does it for the Bay Area. But MTA and its neighbors can't work together on anything.

Different divisions of MTA have trouble working together. Besides, the more solutions, the more jobs for friends of friends.

https://gothamist.com/news/omny-vending ... his-summer

I was always wondering when the OVMs will start to show up. Now they finally have a time period (that they will probably miss). Also the MetroCard will remain for an unspecified period.

I have a senior Metrocard and, living in Pa., ride the NY MTA only a few times a year. I reload it at stations. The thing I would worry about with refilling OMNY online is the problem I had with my Metro Smartrip card in Virginia: the added value was supposed to show up within 4 hours, and I tried it a few times but it never worked. It would show up sometime after I needed it, and I ended up going to Metro stations and using a machine to add value to my card. We lived miles from the nearest Metro station and rode buses a lot, so I just planned to get to a Metrorail station when the value on the Smartrip card got low. With infrequent trips to NY, I would worry about adding value to OMNY online and not having the value available to spend when I got on the subway.