MetroCard

The idea for a farecard with a magnetic strip for the MTA system was proposed in 1983. It was the "highest priority" for then-MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch. The card would replace the tokens that were, at the time, used to pay transit fares.^[7] This plan was generally supported by the public.^[8] In 1984, Ravitch's successor Bob Kiley said that he would try to create a system for the new farecards within the next four years.^[9] However, bureaucratic actions and disagreements delayed the rollout of the system. In March 1990, the MTA board voted to allocate funding for the magnetic fare collection system.^[10] Three months later, the New York state legislature voted to allow the MTA to proceed for its plans for the new system.^[11] By 1991, the token technology was becoming dated: almost all other transit systems were using magnetic farecards, which were found to be much cheaper than the token system.^[12] In July of that year, the MTA board approved the roll-out of the magnetic farecard system.^[13] The MTA opened a request for bids to furnish and operate the farecard system, and Cubic Transportation Systems offered the lowest bid at $100 million.^[14]


On October 30, 1992, the installation of Automated Fare Collection turnstiles began.^[15] The farecard system was given the name MetroCard by April 1993. At the time, the first subway stations were supposed to receive MetroCard-compatible turnstiles before year's end, and buses were scheduled to be retrofitted with MetroCard collection equipment by late 1995.^[16] On June 1, 1993, MTA distributed 3,000 MetroCards in the first major test of the technology for the entire subway and bus systems.^[17] Less than a year later, on January 6, 1994, MetroCard-compatible turnstiles opened at Wall Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4 and ​5 trains) and Whitehall Street–South Ferry on the BMT Broadway Line (N, ​R, and ​W trains).^[18][15] All MetroCard turnstiles were installed by May 14, 1997, when the entire bus and subway system accepted MetroCard.^[15]


On September 28, 1995, buses on Staten Island started accepting MetroCard, and by the end of 1995, MetroCard was accepted on all New York City Transit buses.^[15]


Before 1997, the MetroCard design was blue with yellow lettering. These blue cards are now collector's items.^[19] On July 4, 1997, the first free transfers were made available between bus and subway at any location with MetroCard. This program was originally billed as MetroCard Gold. Card colors changed to the current blue lettering on goldenrod background.^[15] On January 1, 1998, bonus free rides (10% of the purchase amount) were given for purchases of $15 or more.^[15] On July 4, six months later, 7-Day and 30-Day Unlimited Ride MetroCards were introduced, at $17 and $63 respectively.^[15] A 30-day Express Bus Plus MetroCard, allowing unlimited rides on express buses in addition to local buses and the subway, was also introduced at $120.^[20] The 1-Day Fun Pass was introduced on January 1, 1999, at a cost of $4.^[15] The debut of the MetroCard allowed the MTA to add bonus fare incentives, such as free bus transfers to other buses or subways. Half of the ridership increase between 1997 and 1999 was attributed to these incentives.^[21]


The first MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs) were installed on January 25, 1999, in two stations,^[22] and by the end of 1999 347 MVMs were in service at 74 stations.^[15] On April 13, 2003, tokens were no longer sold.^[23] Starting May 4, 2003, tokens were no longer accepted, except on buses. The following fare increases were implemented:


On February 27, 2005, another fare hike occurred:


On April 1, 2007, MetroCard started to be accepted by the Westchester Bee-Line Bus System as all of its buses were now equipped with new fareboxes that could accept MetroCard.^[27]


On March 2, 2008, another set of fare increases was implemented:


On June 28, 2009, the agency had its second fare hike in as many years:


On December 30, 2010, the bonus value for Pay-Per-Ride decreased to 7% for every $10, and the 1-Day Fun Pass and the 14-Day Unlimited Ride were discontinued altogether. Additionally:


In 2012, the MTA allowed advertisements to be printed on the fronts of MetroCards. The backs of MetroCards had already been used for advertisements since 1995. This change meant that advertisers could remove the MTA logo from the fronts of MetroCards.^[31][32]


As a result of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, three free transfers were offered on the MetroCard. The first was between the Q22, the Q35, and the 2 and ​5 trains at the Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College station.^[33] The second between the Q22, either the Q52 Limited or the Q53 Limited, and the A train at the Rockaway Boulevard station.^[33] Finally, a three-hour transfer window applied from transfers from any subway station to the Q22 or Q113 routes of MTA Bus, and then to the n31, n32, and n33 routes of NICE.^[33]


On December 19, 2012, the MTA voted for the following fare increases:


Starting February 20, 2013, people were able to refill cards with both time and value, so that when a MetroCard is filled with both an unlimited card and fare value, the unlimited ride portion is used first where applicable. If not started already, the unlimited ride period would begin when the card is next used, and when the unlimited period expires, the regular fare would be charged.^[35] On March 3, 2013, a $1 fee was imposed on new card purchases in-system in order to reduce the number of discarded MetroCards. However, MetroCards purchased through the Extended Sales retail network carry no new card fee.^[36]


On March 22, 2015, the MTA voted for the following fare increases:


On March 19, 2017, the following fare increases went into place:


On October 23, 2017, it was announced that the MetroCard would be phased out and replaced by OMNY, a contactless fare payment system also by Cubic, with fare payment being made using Apple Pay, Google Wallet, debit/credit cards with near-field communication enabled, or radio-frequency identification cards.^[39][40] All buses and subway stations would use the OMNY system by 2020. However, support of the MetroCard is slated to remain until 2023.^[40]


In mid-2018, city officials tentatively agreed to start a program in which they would provide half-fare MetroCards to almost 800,000 New York City residents living below the federal poverty line. The program would start in January 2019, and the New York City allocated $106 million in fiscal year 2019 to subsidize the half-fare MetroCards for at least six months.^[41][42] After uncertainty over whether the program would be implemented,^[43][44] the half-fare MetroCards were rolled out starting on January 4, 2019.^[45][46][47] Initially, the reduced-fare MetroCards would be rolled out to 30,000 residents, though another 130,000 New Yorkers receiving SNAP benefits would also be allowed to receive the half-fare MetroCards in April 2019. However, in the revised plan, only a portion of the originally projected 800,000 residents (around 20%) would be eligible for the reduced-fare cards.^[45][46]


On April 21, 2019, the following fare increases went into place:


In August 2023, the following fare increases went into place: