MTA Announces OMNY Card Giveaway at Customer Service Centers Ahead of End of MetroCard Sales

Fees To Be Waived for OMNY Cards When Customers Transfer Balances
First 400 Customers to Transfer Balances at Customer Service Centers Get Fee-Waived Cards

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, November 18, the first 400 customers to transfer their balances from MetroCards to OMNY at the 16 current Customer Service Centers throughout the transit system will receive fee-waived OMNY cards. Cards will be loaded with balances remaining on their MetroCards with transfers of balances occurring on the spot at the Customer Service Centers.

The announcement comes as the MTA prepares to transition away from the MetroCard with sales ending on December 31, 2025, and full transition to tap-and-ride in 2026. The OMNY cards will not have trip value pre-loaded.

OMNY cards offered with no fees will be available to the first 400 customers at all 16 Customer Service Centers, listed below: 

The Bronx

• 161 St-Yankee Stadium    
• Fordham Rd  
• Parkchester  

Brooklyn

• Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr         
• Coney Island-Stillwell Av     
• Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs   

Manhattan

• 34 St-Penn Station    
• 125 St    
• 168 St    
• Fulton St          
• Grand Central-42 St      
• Times Sq-42 St          

Queens

• Flushing-Main St  
• Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av      
• Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport    

Staten Island

• St. George   (open Monday to Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)

14 new Customer Service Centers are set to open later this year at locations across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. The first 400 customers to visit those new Customer Service Centers and transfer their MetroCard balances to OMNY will also receive the promotional fee-waived OMNY cards.

Agents at Customer Service Centers are on hand 24/7 to assist riders with OMNY machines, help customers sign up for the Fair Fares and Reduced-Fare programs, and provide service information among other features.  Customer Service Centers feature services historically provided by the MTA exclusively at 3 Stone Street in Lower Manhattan in the neighborhoods where riders live. 

The Customer Service Centers include repurposed booths, retail outlets and feature enhanced accessibility, OMNY technology, and a dedicated, more welcoming visual presentation for customers through new lighting, branded wrapping, and canopies.

Earlier this year, the MTA announced that the final day for MetroCard sales and distribution will be December 31, 2025, as the MTA’s popular contactless tap-and-ride payment system fully replaces the three-decade old swipe system. The tap-and-ride payment system allows riders to pay fares directly with digital wallets, contactless credit and debit cards, and OMNY cards.

MetroCards will still be accepted into 2026 and the official final acceptance date will be announced at a later time. While customers are encouraged to spend down the value on their MetroCards, remaining balances will be eligible for transfer or reimbursement two years from the expiration date on the MetroCard.