Limited rides

To many, the MTA’s OMNY tap-to-ride program to transition away from MetroCards is a boon and a convenience. It’s not just the ability of straphangers to use a credit card or smartphone to pay, but the promise of not having to do the hair-hurting math of choosing between pay-per-ride and unlimited trips, via a neat trick called farecapping, designed to automatically make all weekly rides after the 12th free. We like that idea a lot in theory, though the execution leaves much to be desired.

But sometimes, the free rides seem not to be kicking in.

A frequent rider and member of this Editorial Board decided to use OMNY via one card starting on Monday one week, with eyes on that lucky 13th ride at which point, according to the ads blanketing subways and buses and the cheery MTA website, there’d be no more charges until the fare capping cycle reset the next Monday.

By the end of the week, this board member noticed there were 14 separate charges for the $2.75 fare. What gives? Either the system didn’t play nice with transfers, which are supposed to be included, or failed to register that the card had hit the threshold for unlimited rides.

The extra $5.50 won’t break this writer’s bank, but for millions of New Yorkers feeling the pinch of inflation and rising rents, the cost will add up. Assuming they notice the errant charges, they could, of course, call the OMNY support line and wait on hold to sort it out, but this time, too, will no doubt add up.

We don’t know how common the problem is. We’ve found some people sharing their own similar troubles on social media and heard sporadic accounts of OMNY declining a card at the turnstile but then still charging the fare. But chances are, if it’s happening to a few people, it’s happening to more. Get this sorted out, or the heavy advertising with bold promises may have to be held temporarily by the train’s conductor.