Pay by Smartphone Bus and Trains Delayed Due to Covid

NEW YORK - A plan to allow New York City residents pay every bus and train ride by a smartphone app will be delayed because of the coronavirus, the MTA announced.

The agency announced last year plans to phase out MetroCards as it launches a program to pay by swiping a smartphone. The new payment system is called OMNY, short for One Metro New York, and was first rolled out in Staten Island buses, and subway stations on the 4, 5 and 6 lines between Grand Central and Atlantic Ave.-Barclays Center.

More than a year later, the program is on only half the buses and trains and is not expected to make the October deadline. The MTA says that the coronavirus, which reduced ridership by 90 to 95 percent, has complicated matters and set them back.

The system is now expected to be in place by the end of 2020, and 7-day and 30-day passes by early next year.

Once contactless payment is available across all subways and buses, the MetroCard will be taken out of service.