The MTA first offered Apple Pay back in May last year for a handful of lines. Since then the progress has been slow and issues along the way have delayed its complete rollout.
Now in 2020 more than half of the MTA subway stations have contactless pads, with the other half being delayed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. In a report from WSJ, the October deadline will simply not be met.
The coronavirus pandemic has delayed by about two months the completion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new fare payment system, OMNY, across the subway, officials said Tuesday
The new payment system allows riders to avoid vending machines by letting them pay for rides using a tap-and-pay credit card, a smartphone or a smartwatch, which they hover above an electronic reader
OMNY was supposed to be available across the entire subway system by October, weeks after an anticipated surge in ridership at the end of the summer.
But officials halted the installation of digital readers at subway turnstiles in late March because of concerns workers could become infected with the virus, said Steve Brunner, who leads the OMNY project for a contractor, Cubic Transportation Systems. Via WSJ
The complete rollout of Apple Pay is expected to be completed and operational by the end of the year. 7-day and 30-day passes won’t be supported until early 2021.
The MTA expects the Contactless Payment system will be available on all Manhattan buses by of July and the rest of the city buses at the end of the year.
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