A reader told me she likes my tales of NYC, so I’m interrupting regular programming to tell you how things really work in this great metropolis.
We need DOGE!
A few years ago, the MTA ditched tokens for the MetroCard. You’d drop one of these thingies into a turnstile, and in you went. (If you bothered. Fare evasion is rampant, but I digress.)
Once I hit the magic age for a reduced fare, I applied. The MTA uses an “auto-replenishment” system, meaning every time my balance dipped, they’d charge me a full refill—an amount they unilaterally and regularly raised. Maybe it was fair. Maybe it was a scam. Either way, it felt like a shakedown.
So when OMNY came along, I switched. Tap-and-go, no replenishment nonsense— just pay as you go. NYC residents can register an account for benefits like reduced fare, which I did. I even checked my statements at first, half-expecting OMNY to screw something up. But all looked fine, so I let my guard down.
BIG MISTAKE. BIG. HUGE.
(Insert obligatory Pretty Woman still.)
I don’t normally scrutinize my credit card statements. Yes, I know, another Big Mistake. Big. Huge. But yesterday I did. I saw charges from OMNY — on a card I’d never used for transit! Turns out, the sensors at the turnstiles can and do incorrectly debit random cards.
Visitors, take note: always check your statements. The MTA will steal money right out of your pocket.
So I decided to check the card I do use for OMNY, and to my horror, I’d been charged full fare for months.
Then I checked the online OMNY portal. My usual card wasn’t even listed in my online account. Strange. I added it (which I shouldn’t have, but did) and stewed, waiting for the next day, to call their customer service.
This morning, I called. After the usual NYC glitches (nothing here works smoothly), I reached someone competent. Together, we pieced together what happened — sort of.
When originally on March 19, 2024, my reduced fare account was linked to a debit card, no one actually linked it to my name. Her words. Yet somehow, the reduced fare feature was still working. Until October 10, 2024, when I added a credit card to my online OMNY account.
At that point, it became my responsibility to call OMNY and tell them I had a reduced fare card. There’s no online way to do this. (Of course not.)
The agent refunded the most obviously incorrect charge and manually loaded my expired-but-functional reduced fare debit card onto the portal. If I use it, it should reactivate automatically. Allegedly. (We’ll see about that.)
Of course, after we concluded our call, I remember that I’d forgotten to ask something.
I called back to ask if I could have two active reduced fare cards. Answer: no. And, more important, the case had been set up to make my credit card the reduced fare card, so I stopped that.
I’ll try using the debit card. If it doesn’t work (because I don’t trust anything now), I’ll call back and restart the credit card process.
Clear as mud? Welcome to NYC. Very glamorous.
They said I can’t get back the money I was overcharged.
We’ll see about that. Stay tuned.
MTA, I’m coming for you.
The Pretty Woman reference was 😚👌🏻
So, you pay your fare and they steal from you... likely to cover all the turnstile jumpers. What is needed is for Rudy's rules to be applied. Turnstile hoppers should be arrested. But I wouldn't be surprised if there no longer was space for them in the jails.