OMNY issues are plaguing increasingly frustrated straphangers \u2014 just days before MTA makes it the go-to option for subway fares.<\/p>\n
Commuters reported getting charged multiple times for a single ride when using the new tap-and-ride system, or being unable to check their card balances, as well as broken re-loading machines at various subway stations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a good system right now,\u201d said Fannie Brown, 58, lugging a large suitcase as she tried to catch the Q train at the 34th St-Herald Square station \u2014 but couldn\u2019t reup her OMNY card due to three busted machines there Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should\u2019ve stuck to the MetroCard, but it\u2019s too late for that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Straphangers are complaining that the OMNY system is still riddled with bugs. Georgett Roberts<\/p>\n
OMNY, whether via the card or through tap-to-ride, will become the sole option for riding the rails in the new year as the Metropolitan Transit Authority retires the decades-old swipe system on Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
The transit authority has repeatedly touted the new technology, saying earlier this month that 94% of all riders were already opting for OMNY.<\/p>\n
But various riders have reported getting charged numerous times per tap \u2014 a bug the MTA has been working to fix for months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with the MTA. The new maps, this OMNY thing, where I never know what I\u2019m being charged. Do we really need all that stuff? Shouldn\u2019t they be fixing the subway stations?\u201d Gwen Linden, 54, of the Upper West Side griped to The Post during the Christmas Day travel rush.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brown, at the packed Herald Square station on Friday, also bemoaned the tech issues she faced with OMNY, as well as the lack of working machines to add cash to her card.<\/p>\n
One of the three OMNY machines in the 34th Street subway station was out of service Friday. Georgett Roberts<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go from machine to machine,\u201d she said, while on her way to a second machine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s annoying because when you tap the card at the turnstile, it doesn\u2019t work. There is money on my card. It is saying, \u2018Can\u2019t read\u2019 or something like that, so I just go to the booth and the person just lets me through the gate,\u201d Brown continued. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a good system right now. They should\u2019ve stuck to the MetroCard, but it\u2019s too late for that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although not as serious as potential theft, some riders grieved the loss of a MetroCard feature that showed riders just how much cash was left on the card \u2014 and whether they were using a free transfer \u2014 when they swiped through the turnstile. <\/p>\n
OMNY is the only accepted form of payment at several stations. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s simpler and faster than the MetroCard. But I wish it would show the balance and the transfers,\u201d Sara Sloan, 76, of Brooklyn, said of OMNY.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MTA Chief Customer Service Officer Shanifah Rieara has said the agency was brainstorming such a feature, to show riders how close they are to scoring their free rides.<\/p>\n
Some New Yorkers were simply in mourning for OMNY\u2019s tried-and-true predecessor.<\/p>\n