MTA Announces OMNY Unlimited Weekly Pass for $33: Similar to Seven-Day MetroCard

By Yehudit Garmaise

New Yorkers who use public transportation who try OMNY, the new tap-and-pay system, will soon not only enjoy not touching anything while paying their fares, but commuters who pay for 12 rides in one week will get unlimited rides for the rest of that week: in a program that costs $33, just like the seven-day unlimited-ride MetroCard.

Starting March 1, in a pilot program that will last at least four months, OMNY users who buy their weekly rates on Mondays will pay the standard $2.75 per ride, for their first 12 trips, but every trip after that will be free for the rest of the week: through to the following Sundays.

On April 13, 2003, MetroCards replaced subway tokens, which had been in use since July 25, 1953, when New York City's subway fare was raised to 15 cents.

The city had introduced subway tokens, which became a symbol of the city, to make paying fares easier for subway riders, so that they did not have to find three nickels for each subway ride.

The MTA continues to innovate with OMNY, which offers commuters the option to reload their fares online, instead of only at subway stations and to “tap and go,” on screens facing out on at the turnstiles, so subway riders don’t have to swipe their cards.

The spring pilot program of OMNY, which stands for One Metro New York, is part of an ongoing effort by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to persuade New Yorkers to chose  subways, buses, and trains as their primary modes of transportation after COVID caused huge declines in ridership.

"We're a $16 billion business that has lost half its customers, and we're fighting to get them back," said Janno Lieber, the MTA's Acting Chair and CEO. 

The MTA’s pilot program also will include a 10% discount on monthly tickets for the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North, a new 20-trip ticket that offers a 20% discount on peak-time one-way fares, and a "city ticket " that allows riders to use the LIRR/Metro-North within NYC limits for weekday off-peak times.