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. This plan was generally supported by the public. 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. 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. Three months later, the New York state legislature voted to allow the MTA to proceed for its plans for the new system. 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. In July of that year, the MTA board approved the roll-out of the magnetic farecard system. 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. On October 30, 1992, the installation of Automated Fare Collection turnstiles began. 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. On June 1, 1993, MTA distributed 3,000 MetroCards in the first major test of the technology for the entire subway and bus systems. Less than a year later, on January 6, 1994, MetroCard-compatible turnstiles opened at Wall Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line () and Whitehall Street–South Ferry on the BMT Broadway Line (). 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. The 1-Day Fun Pass was introduced on January 1, 1999, at a cost of $4. The first MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs) were installed on January 25, 1999, in two stations, and by the end of 1999 347 MVMs were in service at 74 stations. On April 13, 2003, tokens were no longer sold. Starting May 4, 2003, tokens were no longer accepted, except on buses. The following fare increases were implemented: • Base fare increased from $1.50 to $2.00 • 1-Day Unlimited MetroCard fare increased from $4 to $7 • 7-Day Unlimited increased by $3, to $24. On March 2, 2008, another set of fare increases was implemented: • 1-Day Unlimited fare increased by 50 cents, to $7.50. • 7-Day Unlimited fare increased by $1, to $25. • 1-Day Unlimited fare increased by 75 cents, to $8.25. • 7-Day Express Bus Plus fare increased by $5, to $50. 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 at the Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College subway station. On December 19, 2012, the MTA voted for the following fare increases: • Base fare and single-ride ticket increased by 25 cents, to $2.50. • 7-Day Unlimited MetroCard fare increased by $1, to $30. 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. On March 22, 2015, the MTA voted for the following fare increases: • Base Fare increased by 25 cents, to $2.75; • Express Bus fare increased, to $6.50; • 7-Day Express Bus Plus fare increased by $2.25, to $59.50; All buses and subway stations would use the OMNY system by 2020. However, support of the MetroCard is slated to remain until 2023. After uncertainty over whether the program would be implemented, the half-fare MetroCards were rolled out starting on January 4, 2019. 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. • 7-Day Unlimited fare increased by $1, to $33; • Express Bus fare increased, to $7.00 • 7-Day Unlimited fare increased to $34 • 7-Day Express Bus Plus fare increased to $64.00 • 30-Day Unlimited fare increased to $132 • Single Ride ticket increased by 25 cents, to $3.25 The MetroCard itself cost $1. ==Retirement==

In 2006, the MTA and Port Authority announced plans to replace the magnetic strip with smart cards. On July 1, 2006, MTA launched a six-month pilot program to test the new contact-less smart card fare collection system, initially ending on December 31, 2006, but extended until May 31, 2007. This program was tested at all stations on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and at four stations in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. The testing system utilized Citibank MasterCard's Paypass keytags. This smart card system was intended to ease congestion near the fare control area by reducing time spent paying for fare. MTA and other transportation authorities in the region said they would eventually implement it system-wide. OMNY In October 2017, MTA signed a $573 million contract with Cubic Transportation Systems for OMNY (short for One Metro New York), a new fare payment system. This will use the contactless payment system, with riders waving or tapping credit or debit bank cards, smartphones, and/or MTA-issued smart cards to pay their fare. before being licensed to Cubic for worldwide sale. MTA expects to spend at least six years rolling out the system, with new electronic readers and vending machines. The new fare system would be rolled out on a limited basis in May 2019. It was intended that by 2024, the MetroCard would be phased out entirely, although this target has not been met. On March 19, 2025, the MTA announced that sales and distribution of the MetroCard would end on December 31, 2025. Customers will still be able to continue using their MetroCards until turnstiles and vending machines are disassembled at a later date. In late 2025, stores stopped selling MetroCards, In addition, coinciding with the retirement, the New York Transit Museum hosted an exhibit commemorating the MetroCard in December 2025. In addition, announcements made by Katseye, Andy Cohen, Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street , and Ronnie Chieng were made announcing the MetroCard's retirement. By that month, all except 16 MetroCard Vending Machines had been removed. After MetroCard sales ceased, old MetroCards were listed for sale on eBay, sometimes for thousands of dollars each. == Attributes ==

The cards were made of polyester. They measured across and are in thickness. There was also a circular hole on the left side of the MetroCard; turnstiles and farebox machines used this hole to ensure that the card was being read correctly. Over the MetroCard's lifetime, 3.2 billion cards were manufactured. many in the United Kingdom. They were then encoded with stored value at a facility in Maspeth, Queens. The AFC Database was necessary to maintain transaction records to track a card if needed. It had actually been used to acquit criminal suspects by placing them away from the scene of a crime. The database also stored a list of MetroCards that have been invalidated for various reasons. Reasons include the MetroCard being lost, stolen, expired student, or an expired monthly card, and it distributed the list to turnstiles in order to deny access to a revoked card. pay shelter for pre-payment of fare before boarding Select Bus Service buses.The older blue MetroCards were not capable of the many kinds of fare options that the gold ones offered. The format of the magnetic stripe used by the blue MetroCard offered very little other than the standard pay-per-swipe fare. Gold MetroCards allowed groups of people (up to four) to ride together using a single pay-per-swipe MetroCard. The gold MetroCard kept track of the number of swipes at a location in order to allow those same number of people to transfer at a subsequent location, if applicable. The MetroCard system was designed to ensure backward compatibility, which allowed a smooth transition from the blue format to gold. Cubic later used the proprietary MetroCard platform to create the Chicago Card and Tren Urbano's fare card, which are physically identical to the MetroCard except for the labeling. During the MetroCard's existence, several local artists used MetroCards in their work. Within a month of the discontinuation of MetroCard sales, these artists reported having trouble finding remaining MetroCards. ==Card types==

SingleRide Ticket The SingleRide Ticket (introduced to replace subway tokens and single cash fares) was a piece of paper with a magnetic strip on the front, and with the date and time of purchase stamped on the back. They cost $3.25 for one subway or local bus ride, with one free transfer allowed between buses, issued by the bus operator upon request. SingleRide Tickets did not allow transfers between subways and buses. Although the Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard was accepted on PATH, the regular SingleRide ticket was not. However, a PATH SingleRide ticket was available from MVMs in PATH stations for $3.00, valid for two hours and only on PATH. PATH also accepted 2-Trip PATH MetroCards, which cost $6.00 and were also valid only on PATH. • Between certain bus routes as specified in • $4.10 for each local bus or subway to express bus transfer. • Transfers with coins (pennies and half-dollar coins not accepted) are good for use on one connecting local bus route (restrictions apply). • Customers transferring to suburban buses from another system with a lower base fare must pay the difference between the fare on the first bus and the fare on the second bus. • No transfers to the BxM4C. • No free transfer between PATH and NYC Subway, Bus and MTA Bus. • Up to 4 people can ride together on a single Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard, with one free transfer granted. Expired card balance may be transferred to a new card at any MetroCard Vending Machine, up to one year after expiration. After one year the card must be sent to the Customer Claims area of the MTA. EasyPayXPress MetroCard The EasyPayXPress MetroCard functions like a pay per ride or unlimited MetroCard, but is automatically refilled from a linked credit or debit card. An EasyPayXpress account is opened with either $30 or a 30-day unlimited balance of $121. , another $45 is automatically added for Pay-Per-Ride customers when balance drops below $20. To reduce this, a one-time payment may be made online before the balance drops below $20. All rules for standard pay per ride or unlimited cards apply, and EasyPay customers can review the account and ride usage online. Reduced-fare EasyPay version converts from Pay-Per-Ride to Unlimited rides (during that billing cycle) once the value of fares used meet or exceed the cost of a reduced-fare 30-Day Unlimited Ride card. Express bus fares do not contribute, and EasyPay cannot be used on PATH trains. As of March 2025, the EasyPayXPress Metrocard has been discontinued in favor of the new OMNY System. AirTrain JFK Discount MetroCard The AirTrain JFK Discount MetroCard offers ten trips on AirTrain JFK at $26.50. This card can only be purchased at specially marked MetroCard Vending Machines. It can be refilled, and once done so, becomes a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. However, although the AirTrain fare is also payable using a regular Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard, no discount is given for Pay-Per-Ride cards. for unlimited subway and local bus rides until midnight on the seventh day following first usage. • 30-Day Unlimited Ride Card, $132 Standard 7- and 30-day unlimited cards are accepted on MTA New York City Subway; non-express buses from either the MTA, NICE, or Bee-Line; the Roosevelt Island Tramway; and the Staten Island Railway. 7-Day Express Bus Plus is accepted on MTA express buses. The AirTrain JFK only accepts the Unlimited AirTrain JFK card. Student MetroCard The Student MetroCard was issued to New York City public and private school students who live within the city limits. It allowed free access to the NYCT buses and trains, depending on the distance traveled between their school and their home. The card program was managed by the NYCDOE Office of Pupil Transportation. In NYC, these cards were replaced by Student OMNY cards. In Nassau County, Student MetroCards are issued by individual schools which have pre-paid for the cards. In Westchester County, cards are also issued, but cost $58 per month, or $580 a school year. The DOE issued different colors of cards to students who live in New York City. Orange cards were given to students who are in grade K-6. Green cards were given to students who are in grades 7–12. Student MetroCards were allowed on the New York City Subway, non-express MTA buses, and the Staten Island Railway. Formerly, there was also a half-fare card that could only be used on non-express buses, discontinued in mid-2019. Blue-and-purple cards are issued to Nassau County students and are only allowed to use the cards on NICE buses. Students who received a student MetroCard must live: • More than 0.5 miles away if they are in grades K–2 Disabled/Senior Citizen Reduced-Fare MetroCard Senior citizen MetroCards are received via application or by submitting the application in person with required ID and copies of proof of age at the NYC Transit Customer Service Center at 3 Stone St in lower Manhattan and act as a combination photo ID and MetroCard. It allows half-fare within the MTA system, and on express buses during off-peak hours only. Half fare is also available on the 7-day and 30-day Unlimited MetroCards. "Autogate" cards are issued to persons with mobility impairments and are accepted at wheelchair doors at selected stations. The card back is color-coded to indicate the gender of the card holder, and the card face is marked with "Photo ID Pass". Later issues of Senior Citizen and Disability MetroCards are uncolored (all white with black printing on back with photo, gold face remains unchanged) for gender neutral requests. Temporary replacement cards are purple with no photo, or blue for Autogate MetroCard holders, and the value cannot be refunded if the original card is stolen or lost. A Senior & Disabled Reduced-fare EasyPay (automatic refill) card is also available. This type of card is accepted everywhere the Pay-Per-Ride or time-based MetroCard is, with two exceptions: it is not valid on the PATH, and it is not valid for ticket purchase on New York City-bound LIRR and Metro-North trains in the morning. Reduced-Fare MetroCards (in any variety) are also not accepted at PATH stations. Reduced-fare customers who do not have a MetroCard may purchase a full-fare round trip MetroCard from a subway station agent by presenting proof of eligibility. This type of card caused complaints because it took up to three months to replace. The Reduced Fare MetroCard began to transition to the MTA's new payment system OMNY and phased out their service use with MetroCard in late 2024. Fair Fares MetroCard The Fair Fares MetroCard pilot program was implemented in January 2019. The Department of Social Services (DSS) and Human Resource Administration (HRA), who are responsible for the enrollments of the Fair Fares NYC customers, began issuing OMNY to select customers as part of a pilot program in mid-2024. New Fair Fares customers began receiving OMNY cards from February 2025 onward; existing customers could either switch to an OMNY card immediately or continue to use their MetroCard until it expired. Emergency services An emergency MetroCard is carried by police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel while on duty so they can access the subway system during an emergency. ==Fares==

MetroCard Bus Transfer The MetroCard Bus Transfer is issued upon request to passengers who pay cash fares on buses accepting MetroCard. The transfer is inserted into the fare box on the second bus, which retains it. Westchester Bee Line bus system and Nassau Inter-County Express and MTA New York City Transit bus is free to transfer from one bus to another bus that is accepted with MetroCard. The bus transfer is paper like the SingleRide Metrocard. This transfer does not grant cash customers subway access. For suburban transfers, if the fare paid to get the transfer is less than that required on the second bus, the difference must be paid on boarding. For transfers from NICE to New York City Transit, no step up fee is required. The predecessor to the MetroCard bus transfer was the original bus transfer. These paper tickets allowed bus to bus transfers. Available in pads of several different colors for use at different times, boroughs or directions, they would be torn at a certain time-marked line to indicate when the transfer would expire. A version of this still exists today as the "General Order Transfer" (aka "block ticket") which is provided to customers as they leave the subway system during service disruptions to re-enter the system at another point (often via a shuttle bus). ==Purchase options==

All new MetroCard purchases were charged a $1 fee, except to reduced-fare customers and those exchanging damaged/expired cards. This purchase fee does not apply to MetroCard refills. Prior to this booths staffed by MTA station agents (at specified time periods) are located in all MTA subway stations. Every type of MetroCard could be purchased at a booth, with the exception of the SingleRide ticket (purchased at the MetroCard Vending Machine) and MetroCards specific to other transit systems (AirTrain JFK and PATH). All booth transactions had to be in cash. MetroCard vending machines MetroCard Vending Machines (MVMs) are located in some in the Bronx, PATH stations (with the added ability to reload SmartLink cards), Staten Island Ferry terminals, Roosevelt Island Tramway stations, and, Eltingville Transit Center, and Terminals A and B at LaGuardia Airport. MVMs debuted on January 25, 1999, and are found in two models. Standard MVMs accept cash, credit cards, and debit cards, and are located in every subway station. Cash transactions are required for purchases of less than $1, and they can return up to $9 in coin change (this amount was changed in later years to $6). MVMs can also reload previously issued MetroCards. MetroCard Express Machines (MEMs) are smaller MVMs that only accept credit and ATM/debit cards. Both models allow customers to purchase any type of MetroCard through a touchscreen. The machines also comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, through use of Braille and a headset jack: audible commands for each menu item are provided once a headset is connected and the proper sequence is keyed through the keypad; all non-visual commands are then entered via the keypad instead of the touchscreen. The MEMs and MVMs are geared to allow a maximum of 2 transactions per day when payment is made by either credit or debit card. PATH fare vending machines (only in PATH stations) can dispense MetroCards. MetroCards that have expired can be exchanged using a MVM or MEM if done within one year of the expiration date printed on the back of the card. This is done by using the Refill option on the machine screen. Any cash value that is left on the expired card will be transferred to the new card. No fee is charged for a new MetroCard in this instance. With the MetroCard being phased out, the vending machines were also removed from stations. In April 2025, the Court Square–23rd Street station, 21st Street–Queensbridge station, and Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station became the first three stations in the New York City Subway system to have all their MetroCard vending machines removed. As of December 2025, the last subway stations to have MetroCard Machines are Bedford Park Boulevard-Lehman College, Woodlawn, Pelham Bay Park, and Wakefield-241 Street. MetroCard bus and van A number of MetroCard sales vans and a MetroCard bus (a retired bus converted for sales duty) routinely travel to specific locations in New York City and Westchester County, stopping for a day (or half a day) at the announced locations. MetroCards can be purchased or refilled directly from these vehicles. Reduced-fare MetroCard applications can also be processed on the bus, including taking photographs for these cards. The MetroCard van serves all five boroughs and Westchester County, while the MetroCard bus serves Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and parts of Brooklyn. Neighborhood MetroCard merchants Vendors can apply to sell MTA fare media at their business. Only presealed, prevalued cards are available, and no fee is charged. A comprehensive listing of neighborhood MetroCard merchants can be found on the MTA website. Commuter railroad ticket vending machines Ticket vending machines (TVMs) for the MTA's two commuter railroad systems, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, offer the option to purchase combined tickets/passes and MetroCards. A $5.50 MetroCard is available with a round-trip ticket, and a $50 MetroCard is available with a monthly pass. In addition, the machines sell separate $25 MetroCards. TVMs at Jamaica station and Penn Station sell AirTrain JFK monthly passes on the back of LIRR tickets. All cards sold from these machines are of thick paper stock, not the normal plastic. As of May 25, 2025 Ticket Vending Machines have stopped selling MetroCards. Beginning in 2007, with the start of the S89 bus service, a combined Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) monthly pass and monthly MetroCard became available at NJ Transit ticket vending machines at HBLR stations. == Unauthorized resale and scams==

The MetroCard system is susceptible to various types of unauthorized resale, colloquially known as "selling swipes". At times, this may involve individuals charging to swipe another commuter into the subway system at a discount below the official fare, either by using an "unlimited ride" MetroCard, or by manipulating a spent MetroCard to obtain an extra, unpaid ride. A 2004 press release from New York State Senator Martin J. Golden claims these behaviors cost the MTA $260,000 a year. So-called 'swipers' reportedly may secure customers by maliciously damaging the coin and bill acceptor mechanisms of MetroCard vending machines. Nearly half of broken vending machines were in Manhattan, and the MTA spent $26.5 million on MVM repairs as of 2017. An 18-minute delay between uses of an "unlimited ride" MetroCard at any given station, and the expense of unlimited ride MetroCards, have historically limited their use for selling swipes. More commonly, "swipers" use a technique which involves bending a spent MetroCard in a precise way that then allows a further use of that MetroCard when swiped and unkinked according to a specific procedure at a turnstile. When the technique was discovered, it could be performed an unlimited number of times with the same MetroCard. However, a software correction soon limited the technique to just once per used MetroCard, in which a turnstile computer which had deferred to that "backup" field would require the MetroCard be swiped additional times through the reader/writer before granting entry so any lingering indication of value could be deleted from the card, making it impossible to manipulate a given MetroCard in the same way once again. A representative of that office successfully defended the charge to the state's highest court, the New York State Court of Appeals, in a case decided in 2009. A $1 fee on new MetroCards imposed in 2013 significantly curtailed the bent-MetroCard form of selling swipes. The fee motivated riders to keep and refill their existing MetroCards, undermining the vast supply of discarded spent MetroCards from which swipers previously drew as their stock-in-trade. The MetroCard has resisted digital duplication through software. The MetroCard has a magnetic stripe, but both the track offsets and the encoding differ from standard Magstripe cards. The card's data is in a proprietary format developed by the contractor Cubic. Off-the-shelf reader/writers for standard cards are useless to read from or write to MetroCards without mechanical modification and custom software. Self-identified hackers have had success decoding MetroCard data by treating MetroCard contents as sound, and converting its contents to binary using a computer sound card, inferring the role of data fields by comparing MetroCards with known properties, and developing custom Linux software to decode MetroCard data. Moreover, MetroCard data has been duplicated to other media, also by treating it as sound, using an eight-track tape player. While duplicates may be usable to enter the subway in the short term, they are likely to be invalidated after the AFC database discovers imbalance between fares purchased for a MetroCard with a certain serial number, and fares used from one or more MetroCards bearing that same serial number. ==Limited editions==

Over the years, the MTA has issued limited-edition MetroCards in honor of certain events, people, or structures. There were over 400 limited-issue designs issued throughout the MetroCard's history. These have included cards with the Statue of Liberty, the New York City bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, a Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum exhibit, and the Circle Line ferry. the 1994 New York Rangers Stanley Cup Finals victory, and the 2014–15 season of the Brooklyn Nets. In 2017, the MTA started issuing Supreme-branded MetroCards at eight subway stations. The Supreme-branded cards were popular, and there were reports that some were resold for hundreds of dollars. The MTA issued MetroCards featuring Mariska Hargitay, the main actress in the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, in 2024 to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary. Front side designs -themed MetroCards for Stonewall 50 - WorldPride NYC 2019 MetroCard, the final limited-edition design produced by the MTA The MTA started allowing front side advertising on MetroCards in 2012. Starting in December 2018, the MTA issued 250,000 Game of Thrones-themed MetroCards at Grand Central–42nd Street, in honor of the show's final season. The cards came in four designs. Starting in May 2019, coinciding with the opening of the Memorial Glade at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the MTA issued 250,000 MetroCards with images of first responders at the World Trade Center site after the September 11 attacks. The MetroCards were issued at ten subway stations: six in Lower Manhattan and four high-traffic stations in Midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. In June 2019, the MTA celebrated Stonewall 50 - WorldPride NYC 2019 with LGBT pride-themed MetroCards. In November 2020, the MTA celebrated Veterans Day with Veterans Day themed MetroCards. The MetroCards were available at six stations: two in Brooklyn, one in Queens, two in Midtown Manhattan, and one in The Bronx. In 2023, the MTA issued special Cam'ron, LL Cool J, Rakim, and Pop Smoke MetroCards. In 2024, the MTA issued Ice Spice MetroCards to celebrate the launch of Ice Spice's first album. That May, the MTA announced that two final front-side MetroCard designs would be issued, as the MTA was in the process of retiring the MetroCard itself. The second-to-last commemorative card was themed to Olivia Rodrigo and was sold starting in October 2024. The last promotional Metrocard, collaborating with Instagram, features social media stars "New York Nico", "SubwayTakes" and "Overheard NY" were sold starting on December 9, 2024. ==Notes==