OMNY for Public Transport in New York

OMNY is the payment system for public transport in New York. The contactless system is used throughout the city, including Manhattan and Brooklyn. If you take the subway, bus or Roosevelt Island Tram, for example, you must always tap in at the OMNY terminal. I will explain exactly what OMNY in New York is and how it works.

What is OMNY New York?

OMNY stands for One Metro New York. You use OMNY to pay for your subway rides, and the system is also valid on buses, the JFK AirTrain and other public transportation in New York City.

How does OMNY work?

OMNY is a contactless payment system for public transport in New York. This means that wherever OMNY is accepted, you don’t need to swipe your card, but simply hold your payment method up to the reader to pay and enter. This is called “tapping”.

You tap in at OMNY using an OMNY card or a credit card. OMNY cards are available as single-ride or rechargeable cards. You can use a credit card physically or digitally via your smartphone or smartwatch.

If you take 12 rides within 7 days by metro, bus or tram, your credit card or OMNY card will automatically become an unlimited public transport card, allowing you to travel for free for the rest of the week.

Paying for public transit in New York

As New York’s OMNY system does not usually accept British debit cards, you can use a physical OMNY card or a credit card to pay for the subway, bus or tram in New York.

Paying for bus and subway by credit card

Does everyone in your travel group have their own credit card? Then that is an easy way to tap and pay.

If you have one credit card that you want to use among several people, you will only be eligible for the weekly fare cap (free travel after 12 rides) if each of you uses a dedicated payment method. For example, one person could tap in with the physical card, one with the digital version of the card and one with a card linked to a smartwatch. If you share the same payment method, you will continue to pay $2.90 per person per ride.

OMNY card as a single-ride ticket

Paying by credit card is not convenient for everyone and in every situation. For example, you may not have a credit card or sufficient credit. Or you may prefer to keep your metro rides separate from your other credit card expenses. In such cases, I recommend purchasing a physical rechargeable OMNY card. You can think of this as a subway pass for New York that you can also use on the bus and tram.

You can travel with up to 4 people using one card. You tap in one after the other and pass the card on to the next person. The card then functions as a single-ride ticket: all rides are charged separately.

Prepaid 7-day unlimited OMNY card

If you each have a separate card, you can all take advantage of the ‘weekly fare cap’: once you have done 12 rides within seven days, your card will automatically be converted into a 7-day unlimited travel card. This means that you can travel for free for the rest of those seven consecutive days.

If you are travelling with several people using one card, the unlimited option will no longer apply.

Sometimes New York visitors experience problems with the unlimited OMNY card. Therefore, read all the information before departure so that you are well prepared for your trip.

Single-ride OMNY tickets

Single-ride OMNY tickets are also available for purchase from ticket machines at stations. These disposable tickets are convenient if you’re only travelling by public transport once or twice. You tap in with them and then throw them away after use. Single-ride OMNY tickets are valid for two hours from the moment of purchase.

Paying for the JFK AirTrain with OMNY

The JFK AirTrain, which connects the airport to New York’s subway network, is also part of the OMNY payment system. However, this train is not a subway line, and it has a different fare, which is $8.50. The AirTrain journey doesn’t count towards the 12 rides you need to reach unlimited travel.

If you buy a prepaid OMNY card with exactly enough credit for 12 rides and also use this card for the AirTrain, there won’t be enough credit left on the card for the 12 regular rides. In that case, you will need to top up the amount for the AirTrain ride or buy a separate AirTrain ticket.

What travelling with OMNY costs

If you tap in with a credit card, you only pay for the rides you take. If you choose a physical OMNY card, you pay for the card itself, plus the balance you load onto the card. The price of the card itself ranges from $1 to $5.

A single ride on the subway, bus or Roosevelt Island Tram costs $2.90. You don’t need to check out when using public transportation in New York. For the metro, as long as you stay underground, the entire journey is counted as one trip. This also applies to the bus: if you transfer to the next bus within two hours, the system will consider this as one trip, and you will only pay $2.90.

The weekly fare cap applies: if within one week you travel for $34, that is, 12 rides by bus, subway or tram, then the rides from there on are free for the rest of the week.

A ride on the JFK AirTrain costs $8.50.

Where can you buy a 7-day OMNY transportation pass?

Would you like to have your OMNY card available immediately upon arrival in New York? If so, order your physical OMNY card right away. You will receive a pass from me with credit for 12 rides. After these 12 rides, the pass will automatically change to an unlimited pass, allowing you to travel for free for the rest of the week (up to 7 calendar days).

Combine the card with a New York discount pass, and you’ll have everything you need for a great trip!

It is also possible to purchase an OMNY card from machines at New York City subway stations or from shops. They are available at Walgreens, CVS and 7-Eleven, among others. You can top up the card with the desired amount.