"My bus rolls into Port Authority. I've got 10 minutes to get across town for my first meeting. I sprint down the escalator, run through droves of people, and arrive at a subway turnstile. I swipe my MetroCard through the magnetic reader, step forward-only to get crotch-checked by a locked metal bar and flipped the finger by a screen that displays "PLEASE SWIPE AGAIN." I give it another swipe. "INSUFFICIENT FARE.""
"To refill my MetroCard, I power walk toward the kiosk. It refuses to read my credit card. I swipe a few more times. Nothing. I sift through my back pocket, discover a crumpled ten-dollar bill, and slide it into the machine. It won't accept my cash. I waffle-iron the bill flat with my hands and feed it back in. The kiosk spits out my refilled MetroCard. Baked into its awful blue and yellow design is this same awful experience, on repeat."
A commuter experiences repeated MetroCard failures at a subway turnstile and a malfunctioning kiosk, causing delay and frustration. The MetroCard operated as New York City's primary subway access method since its 1993 introduction. The magnetic swipe technology and kiosks repeatedly failed to read cards and cash, making the overall user experience poor. The MTA began rolling out OMNY, a tap-and-go system, in 2019 with pilots and borough installations over four years. Manhattan and Brooklyn adopted OMNY early, and by November 2024 about 60% of riders used OMNY, prompting retirement of the older swiping system.
Read at Fast Company
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