New Yorkers are saying goodbye to the MetroCard before its demise on NYE: 'Don't want to let it go'

"The New York Transit Museum launched its FAREwell MetroCard exhibit Tuesday, inside an appropriately blue- and yellow-colored room, to recount the token replacement's 34-year history that'll end Dec. 31. "New Yorkers especially don't like change. If there's something that works - even if the technology behind it is a little outdated - New Yorkers don't want to let it go," Jodi Shapiro, curator for the NYTM, told The Post."

"The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in March announced that sales and refills of the slick subway cards will officially stop at the end of 2025, as part of the transition to the OMNY tap-to-pay system. It set off a wave of woe among some transit aficionados, who heralded the payment pass as a Big Apple icon, as well as a panic rush to grab as many of the so-called antiquated cards as they could."

"But hundreds of the MetroCard vending machines had already been carted away. One of the few remaining machines is located at the 241st Street Station in the Bronx, where hard-headed straphangers ignored the tap-to-ride option Friday in favor of the tried-and-true swiper. "I'm an old school guy, so I'm just going to use it for a while. As soon as it stops working, I will get the OMNY card," one subway-goer said."

The New York Transit Museum launched a FAREwell MetroCard exhibit inside a blue-and-yellow room that recounts the card's 34-year history and notes its end on Dec. 31, 2025. Hundreds of visitors attended to view and collect MetroCards as keepsakes. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced in March that sales and refills will stop at the end of 2025 as part of the transition to the OMNY tap-to-pay system. Many vending machines have already been removed, though a few remain, including one at 241st Street Station in the Bronx. Some riders prefer MetroCard, distrust OMNY due to accidental overcharges, and resist switching immediately.

Read at New York Post