With the start the 2024-2025 school year, high school students who take public transportation to school have been the first to receive New York City’s new OMNY cards. The OMNY cards have replaced traditional MetroCards, making it easier with a simple tap.
Classic MetroCards have been distributed since 1997, but the new OMNY cards come with a lot more exciting features. In the past, MetroCards were not always full-fare and for students, they had a time constraint. OMNY cards, on the other hand, work seven days a week with no time duration. OMNY cards also work during the summer and on holidays, as well, and work for four rides every day.
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Although OMNY cards provide students with many benefits, they also come with many cons.
First, students can only get one card for the entire school year including the summer. Second, if students lose their OMNY card it will take around 30 days to get a replacement. Additionally, the previous MetroCards were made out of plastic, but the OMNY cards are made out of paper instead.
Many students at Cardozo have strong opinions about the new OMNY cards.
Nyra Millien, a Cardozo junior, dislikes the new OMNY cards and believes that they are inconvenient. Millien claims that the new cards are “flimsy” and not really sturdy like the original MetroCards. This seems to be a common complaint from students.
In addition, Millien pointed out, “MetroCards were better for going to places that were farther away, such as Long Island.”
“I think OMNY cards could have been designed better,” said student Emily Solorzano-Alvarenga. “The quality of the card could be better. I don’t like how the card is made out of paper. It gets dirty and gets damaged easier.”
Brianna Larida, another Cardozo junior, said that she prefers MetroCards because they are reliable unlike OMNY cards. “The upgrade to OMNY cards is a smart move, but it could have been better introduced,” she claimed.
However, there are some benefits to the new cards.
Solorzano-Alvarenga pointed out, “We get free trips on weekends! What else can a NY student ask for?”
Overall, OMNY cards give students a newer and easier way to travel and their estimated value is $4,234, compared to the MetroCards’ old value of $2,557. With the flexibility of OMNY cards, it gives students new opportunities to travel to not just school but school related things as well, such as internships, community service, sports games, night school, and fundraisers.
However, the material and roll out of the OMNY cards seems to have fallen short for many city students — with the cards being made with different materials, many are concerned that they won’t be able to withstand the harsh weather conditions that us New Yorkers face.
