New York City’s subway is closing the book on one of its most recognisable modern icons, as the MetroCard is phased out after more than three decades in service.
From 31 December 2025, the city’s transit authority will stop selling and refilling MetroCards, completing the transition to OMNY, a contactless payment system that allows passengers to tap a bank card, smartphone or smart device to pay fares.
The move marks the end of an era that began in 1994, when the swipeable plastic MetroCard replaced the subway token and brought long-overdue modernisation to one of the world’s largest and oldest mass-transit networks.
According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, more than 90 per cent of subway and bus journeys are already paid for using OMNY, which was introduced in 2019. Existing MetroCards will continue to be accepted into 2026, allowing riders to use up remaining balances.
From tokens to technology
Before MetroCards, New Yorkers relied on brass-coloured tokens introduced in 1953, bought from station booths and dropped into turnstiles. When the subway first opened in 1904, fares were paid with paper tickets costing just five cents.
“There was resistance to change because tokens worked,” said Jodi Shapiro, curator at the New York Transit Museum, which has opened a new exhibition exploring the MetroCard’s legacy. “But the MetroCard introduced a whole new way of thinking about how New Yorkers move around the city.”
The magnetic-stripe card enabled innovations that reshaped daily travel: free transfers between buses and subways, unlimited weekly and monthly passes, and discounted fares for seniors, students and disabled riders. It also required a new skill, mastering the correct swipe speed and angle, a rite of passage that became a point of pride for seasoned New Yorkers and a source of frustration for visitors.
The MTA even ran public campaigns teaching commuters how to swipe correctly, briefly flirting with the idea of a mascot before deciding against it.
A cultural artefact
Over time, the MetroCard became more than a ticket. Limited-edition designs turned it into a collectible, marking events such as the 2000 “Subway Series” baseball final, while musicians, artists and TV shows, from David Bowie and the Wu-Tang Clan to Seinfeld and Law & Order, appeared on commemorative cards.
“For me, the most special cards are the ones that present New York to the world,” said Lev Radin, a Bronx-based collector. “They capture the people and culture that make the city what it is.”
The card even made awkward political cameos. During the 2016 US presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton famously struggled through multiple swipes at a Bronx turnstile, a moment that cemented the MetroCard’s reputation as deceptively difficult to master.
Unlike the MetroCard’s introduction, the shift to OMNY has required relatively little adjustment. Riders without bank cards or smartphones can still buy reloadable OMNY cards, while fare-capping means passengers automatically receive unlimited rides after 12 journeys within seven days, a system similar to London and Singapore.
Transit officials say the move will save at least $20 million a year in MetroCard-related production and maintenance costs, while simplifying fare collection across the network.
Near Times Square, Ronald Minor, a 70-year-old Manhattan resident, said he still prefers swiping a MetroCard, finding OMNY vending machines more confusing.
“It’s hard for elders,” he said. “Don’t push us aside and make it like we don’t count.”
Others say they will adapt. “It’s just like everything else,” said John Sacchetti, another MetroCard user. “Once I get used to it, I think it’ll be okay.”
As New York joins a growing list of global cities to fully embrace contactless fares, the MetroCard is set to join subway tokens as a relic of transit history, preserved in museums, collections and memories.
What will be lost is not just a payment method, but a shared urban ritual: the flick of the wrist, the moment of suspense, and the quiet satisfaction of a perfect swipe.