Edward Hausner/The New York Times On Aug.31, 1969, New York City buses began requiring exact change.
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All of our buses and +SelectBusService Coin Fare Collector machines accept exact fare in coins. Dollar bills, pennies, and half-dollar coins are not accepted. OMNY is the MTA's new fare payment system. Use your contactless card or smart device to pay the fare on buses and subways.
Purchase your MetroCard or SingleRide Ticket.You can pay with credit or debit cards at all vending machines, though only the large ones accept cash. Subway stations only accept cash. You must put at least $5.50 on a Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard. You can also pay cash on the bus in exact change.
Tap your contactless credit or debit card, smartphone, or wearable device at the OMNY reader as you enter. On local, limited, and express buses, you must enter and use the reader at the front door.
Originally a streetcar line along Second Avenue, it is now the M15 bus route, the busiest bus route in the city and United States, carrying over 9.6 million people annually.
Fare Evasion: $100 FineIndividuals are not permitted to enter the New York City Transit subway system or buses without payment of the fare. This includes instances when your MetroCard is not functioning properly.
The good news is that all discounts for seniors and other reduced-rate customers will continue. The base fare for the local rail and bus system is now $2.90, but a senior or eligible transit rider would pay half that, or $1.45, if they enroll in the program. Here's how to get MetroCard discounts.
What does “OMNY” mean? OMNY, which stands for One Metro New York, is based on the concept of unifying fare payments and ticketing across multiple modes of transportation. We believe that transportation is an essential service that connects communities and brings the diversity and energy of New York together.
Subways and busesFare for most riders on subways and local, limited, and Select Bus Service buses: $2.90. Express buses cost $7. Tap to pay your fare with your contactless credit/debit card, smartphone, or OMNY card, or pay with a MetroCard.
The M34 runs from 12th Avenue to FDR Drive via 34th Street, while the M34A runs from Port Authority Bus Terminal to Waterside Plaza. An eastbound M34 bus, Prior to the Select Bus Service implementation.
About bus faresOMNY is accepted on all New York City buses. Fares can also be paid with a MetroCard, coins, or SingleRide ticket. Some buses are fare-free: Q70-LaGuardia Link to and from LaGuardia Airport.
You tap in and the machine immediately deducts the flat fare. The driver will see you do this and challenge you if you don't. It's a flat fare for a trip of any length and this makes tapping out unnecessary. Indeed flat fares were introduced to make this work.
Once you've taken 12 paid rides in a seven-day period, you can ride free for the rest of the week. Here's an example: A rider uses the subway to get to and from work, and takes it on weekends to go into Manhattan to meet friends. They also use the local buses in their neighborhood to run errands.
Subways and local busesGet free rides after 12 fares within seven days using the same device or contactless card with fare capping. Learn more about how to get free rides with OMNY.
For the last 40 years, the MTA has taken out loans to help pay for new tracks, stations, trains and buses — and maintain the ones it already owns. Money from fares, tolls and taxes pays back the lenders, plus interest. That business model worked until the pandemic sent ridership plummeting.
The M102 bus line — a line that runs from the East Village to Harlem with 8,000 daily weekday riders — won the 17th Annual Pokey Award, given to the slowest local bus route in the city by transit advocates with the New York Public Interest Research Group's Straphangers Campaign and TransitCenter.
Number of routes: 234 local, 20 Select Bus Service, and 73 express bus routes in the five boroughs. Longest rides: The longest local bus route is Staten Island's S78 at 19.7 miles between the St George Ferry Terminal and the Bricktown Mall in Charleston. Depots: Buses are housed, washed, and maintained at 28 depots.
The shortest is the 1.3-mile B42 route that connects Canarsie, Brooklyn, to a subway station and bus transfer hub. The longest is the S78's 19.5-mile trip across Staten Island with 117 stops. The average route is six miles. The transportation authority spends $565,000 annually to operate the B39.