It’s a swipeout!
Transit pay scanners begin in ’19
The MTA is ready to rolloll out a new payment systemem to completely replace thehe MetroCard by 2023 — andnd some riders will be ableble use it by early 2019,19, sources told The Post on Friday.
The first phase will al-allow riders to wave theireir credit card or phone nearar a scanner to pay the fare at 500 turnstiles and on 60000 buses, the sources said.id. Riders will be able to use the methods in all entry-yways to the system by 2020. The MTA will eventually release its ownn “tap card” — but will still allow straphangers to use phones and credit cards.
The agency also will create an integrated system so that riders who use both New York City Tran- sit as well as the Long Island Rail Road or MetroNorth can buy the fares for both at the same time.
The MTA will keep the MetroCard system up and running during each phase in case of a breakdown, said the source. The same tactic was used during the phasing out of the token from 1993 to 2003.
MTA officials hope to completely eliminate the MetroCard by 2023.
The company Cubic Corp will be in charge of building the new system, and the whole project will cost more than $570 million, said the source. It will be similar to the payment schemes in London, Chicago and Toronto.
MetroCard replacement is long overdue, said Andrew Albert, an MTA board member who heads the New York City Transit Riders Council.
“The MetroCard should have been replaced many years ago,” said Albert.
“It’s very limiting in what the MTA can do in terms of transactions be- tween subway and buses and Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North.
“The new fare payment system will make it so it’s easy and there will be options.”
Some critics had voiced concerns that a new system would require riders to have a charged and ready smartphone or own a credit card — but MTA’s plan provides alternatives during all stages of the rollout.
The new system will also allow the MTA to pilot all-door boarding on its Select Bus Service routes. Instead of buying a ticket on the sidewalk, riders will be able to tap their card or phone at any door.
MTA officials declined to comment, but the board is expected to vote on the project next week.