After three decades, New York’s MetroCard is heading into retirement. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority stopped selling and refilling the thin yellow card on December 31, 2025, the final step in a years-long migration to OMNY, the contactless tap-and-go fare system the agency began rolling out in 2019.

Existing MetroCards with a balance will continue to be accepted into 2026, and the MTA says it will announce a hard cutoff date later. But the sales shutoff effectively closes the book on a payment technology that launched in the mid-1990s and replaced the subway token.

What OMNY changes for riders

OMNY lets riders pay by tapping a contactless credit or debit card, a phone, a smartwatch, or a dedicated OMNY card at the turnstile or bus reader. More than 90 percent of subway and bus trips already used OMNY before the MetroCard sales cutoff, according to the MTA.

The headline feature is fare capping. OMNY counts a rider’s trips across a single week, and once the rider has paid the equivalent of 12 rides — roughly $34 — every additional trip for the rest of that week is free. In practice that delivers the value of an unlimited weekly pass without requiring riders to buy one in advance, a benefit that disproportionately helps lower-income riders who could not front the cost of a 7-day pass.

As the MTA’s base fare moves to $3, the weekly cap rises toward $35. Enrolled Reduced-Fare customers are capped at half the standard amount.

The accessibility question

The transition has drawn pushback from riders who do not have smartphones or bank cards and who relied on the simplicity of a MetroCard. To address that, the MTA stresses that physical OMNY cards can be purchased and loaded with cash at vending machines and a network of retail locations, so a bank account is not required to ride.

The agency ran mobile sales vehicles across the five boroughs in the weeks around the cutoff to help riders move remaining MetroCard balances onto OMNY cards, citing more than 100 transfer opportunities at those events.

Why the MTA is doing it

Beyond the rider-facing perks, the MTA frames the changeover as a cost-saver. Maintaining the aging MetroCard vending and fare-collection infrastructure is expensive, and the agency estimates that retiring the system saves at least $20 million a year in operating costs — money that, like congestion-pricing revenue, the cash-pressed authority is eager to redirect.

The shift also gives the MTA a modern, account-based fare platform it can build on, from fare capping to potential future integrations across subway, bus, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.

What’s next

The open question is the final MetroCard acceptance date. Until the MTA sets it, riders holding cards with stored value can keep tapping in, but the agency is steering everyone toward OMNY — and toward letting the system’s automatic weekly cap do the work the old unlimited pass used to.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still use my MetroCard in 2026?
Yes. The MTA stopped selling and refilling MetroCards on Dec. 31, 2025, but existing cards with a balance continue to be accepted into 2026. The agency has said it will announce a final acceptance date later. Riders can transfer remaining MetroCard balances to an OMNY card.
How does OMNY fare capping work?
OMNY tracks your trips across a Monday-to-Sunday week. Once you have paid the equivalent of 12 rides — about $34 — every additional trip for the rest of that week is free. You effectively get an unlimited weekly pass without paying for one up front, and the cap applies whether you tap a contactless card, phone or an OMNY card.
Do I need a smartphone or credit card to use OMNY?
No. Riders can buy a physical OMNY card at vending machines and retail locations and load it with cash, so the system does not require a bank card or smartphone.
Is the base fare changing?
The MTA's base fare is moving to $3, which pushes the weekly OMNY cap toward $35. Reduced-fare customers are capped at half that amount.