STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Getting from Staten Island to the rest of New York City can be a costly endeavor, especially when a free transfer is no longer free.
Recently, a Staten Island commuter contacted the Advance/SILive.com with concerns that free transfers between express buses were no longer available.
“[Transfers] were free with Metrocard, but I was charged full fare twice with OMNY,” said Konstantin Klokachev of Old Town.
According to Klokachev, he has previously been able to transfer for free between the SIM15 and SIM10 during his commute.
In September, however, he noticed he was being charged for this transfer.
OMNY transaction records provided by Klokachev show that in July, he was able to transfer from one express bus on Staten Island to another, within an approximately 10-minute window, for free.
More recent records from October, however, show Klokachev getting charged for two separate fares on express bus rides less than 10 minutes apart.
When Klokachev first reached out to OMNY, he said he was told that the transfers were not free.
But after contacting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, he said he was told that transfers were only free going from one borough to another, not between routes in the same borough.
While looking for an answer, Klokachev said he found an MTA document on MetroCard fares from 2023 that states that passengers are “entitled to transfer to any express bus route except a bus bearing the same route designation” within a two-hour window.
He said he was unable, however, to find similar guidance for OMNY, which will replace the MetroCard starting next year.
“I can’t find anything about OMNY. I tried the transfer myself and was charged twice for the first and second buses,” Klokachev explained.
“I wonder if it is a change between Metrocard and OMNY, or a mistake?”
When asked for clarification on express bus transfers, a spokesperson from the MTA confirmed that riders should be getting free transfers within a two-hour window, as long as riders go between two separate routes.
In addition, the spokesperson said that the agency is working on a fix for the issue that causes commuters to be charged twice.
“We are resolving a programming issue caused by human error and reviewing transfer records to ensure no customers are charged for free transfers,” said MTA Spokesperson Joana Flores.
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