Transportation Systems Casebook/NYC Fare Payment System

NYC Fare Payment System

This case reviews the Introduction of the New York City transit system’s new fare payment system. It is the collaborative work of Aleksandr Grinshpun and Lukas Camby, graduate students enrolled in George Mason University's Transportation Policy, Operations, and Logistics Program at the time of writing. The following casebook explores the key actors, policy challenges, and history associated with NYC Fare Payment System in the context of its integration into America's public transport. It was produced as an assignment for George Mason University's Introduction to Transportation Systems graduate course, taught by Dr. Jonathan Gifford.

Summary

In New York City, the earliest form of fare collection for public transit started with the nickel in exchange for a ticket. As all the transportation modes expanded and centralized, fares increased, and new technologies such as turnstiles and tokens had to be introduced to create operating efficiencies and cut costs. Some fare payment utilities were easily adopted, while others are more difficult to implement. One of the more recent fare payment technologies initiated in the 1990’s was MTA’s MetroCard. These plastic cards featured a metallic strip similar to a credit card that could be swiped at a fare collection point and could also be reloaded at fare machines. This system was proposed as an alternative to the token-based system that past New York City transit companies and operators had used from the 1950’s to the 1990’s without having to ever completely overhaul the entire system. A new digital system was favored. The institution of the MetroCard in 1993 was to facilitate ridership data in an attempt to improve operations.

It was a huge shift for transit users at the time. Jack Lusk, a senior vice president with the MTA, told the New York Times in 1993 that “this is going to be the biggest change in the culture of the subways since World War II, when the system was unified… we think the technology is working just fine. But it may take riders some getting used to.” It would take an additional 4 years until May 14th, 1997, when the entire bus and subway system accepted MetroCard. Cubic Transportation Systems designed the magnetic-stripped, blue-and-yellow card to respond to a swipe-based system. The MetroCard works in the following manner: each MetroCard is assigned an exclusive, everlasting ten-digit serial number when it is manufactured. The value on the card is stored magnetically. While each transaction on the card is recorded in the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) Database. After money is loaded onto the card and it is swiped through a turnstile, the value of the card is read, a new value is written, the passenger goes through, and the AFC is updated with that transaction. Although this system was novel at the time of introduction, it quickly became notorious for its technical limitations. Only a few years after the system was introduced newer technology became available that allowed for contactless payment cards to be used. WMATA in Washington, DC introduced SmartTrip in 1999 as one of the first contactless smartcard systems used for paying transit fares in the United States. Most recently, on May 31,2019, the MTA launched a pilot program of its new tap-to-pay system, known as OMNY, that is intended in due course to take the place of swiping a MetroCard. The fare technology will roll out incrementally, allowing transit officials to overcome obstacles as they work toward fully retiring the MetroCard in 2023. With OMNY, riders can bypass lines to refill their Metro cards and simply tap their contactless bank cards or mobile wallet app on their smart phones to pay the fare.

Annotated List of Actors

● Public Transit Users

● MTA vice president Jack Lusk (1993)

● Cubic Transportation System (MetroCard)

● Mayor David Binkens (1990-1994)

● Mayor Rudi Giuliani (1994-2001)

● Mayor Michael Bloomberg (2002-2013)

● Mayor Bill de Blasio (2013-present)

● Accepted on the following public transportation providers:

○ Rail:

■ AirTrain JFK

■ New York City Subway

■ PATH

■ Staten Island Railway

○ Bus:

■ Bee-Line

■ Hudson Rail Link

■ MTA Regional

■ Nassau Inter-County Express

○ Other:

■ Roosevelt Island Tramway

● Technology Companies

○ Apple Pay

○ Samsung Pay

○ Google Pay

● Financial Institutions

Timeline of Events

1. At inception, private companies organized rapid transit routes and surface lines. Abraham Brower established New York City's first public transportation route in 1827. It was a 12-seat stagecoach called "Accommodation," that operated along Broadway from the Battery to Bleecker Street.
   
3. As of 1831, Brower had added the "Sociable" and horse drawn "Omnibus."
   
5. In 1832, John Mason organized the New York and Harlem Railroad, that used a street railway powered by horse-drawn cars with metal wheels running on metal track.
   
7. As early as 1855, 593 omnibuses traveled on 27 Manhattan routes and horse-drawn cars ran on street railways on Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Avenues.
8. Before any underground excavation commenced for the "official" underground subway in 1900, under the management of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Corporation (BRT), the City of Brooklyn was serviced by a series of elevated railway lines referred to as "Els".
   
10. From 1870 to 1873, Alfred E. Beach created a 312-foot tunnel under lower Broadway and ran a subway car operated by "pneumatic pressure."
    
12. In 1872, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) began operating the first El in Manhattan along Ninth Avenue. The elevated lines accommodated efficient rapid transit service, with frequent trains, a cheap fare, and swifter travel time than street traffic. However, these wooden cable cars powered by steam, were prone to mechanical malfunctions such as; snapped cables, engine problems, and track fires.
    
14. Nearing the end of the 19th century, the adoption of electricity on trolley cars, led to the replacement of horses for propulsion.
    
16. New York City's first ‘official’ subway system opened its doors for business in Manhattan on October 27, 1904.
    
18. Until May 10, 1920, to pay for their fare Subway customers purchased tickets which cost $0.05.
    
20. IRT service expanded to the Bronx in 1905, to Brooklyn in 1908, and to Queens in 1915. Also in 1915, the BRT began subway service between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Shortly after, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) absorbed the BRT.
    
22. Trolley bus lines, also called trackless trolley coaches, used overhead power lines to serve Staten Island in the 1920s.
    
24. Beginning in 1930, for three decades, Brooklyn's surface transit were also reliant on trolley bus lines. However, by 1956 and 1960, motor buses had become the dominant form of New York City public transit, replacing trolley cars and trolley buses.
    
26. The first city-run subway service began service in 1932, when the NYC's Board of Transportation completed construction of the Eighth Avenue line and created the Independent Rapid Transit Railroad (IND).
    
28. Post the purchase of the BMT and IRT in 1940, NYC's Board of Transportation became the sole owner and operator of all the city’s subway and elevated lines.
    
30. Towards the late 1940’s, the city also acquired three other bus companies that operated in Queens and Staten Island.
    
32. From 1920 through 1948, turnstiles were introduced for fare payment collection as a cost-cutting initiative in response to post-World War I inflation.
    
34. In 1948, turnstiles started accepting dimes once the fares were increased by 5 cents.
    
36. On June 15, 1953, the New York State Legislature formed the New York City Transit Authority (now MTA New York City Transit) as a separate public entity to manage and operate all city-owned bus, trolley, and subway routes.
    
38. Since turnstiles couldn't handle two different coins, tokens replaced coins in 1953, when the fare rose to 15 cents.
    
40. In 1970, NYCTA released a larger version of the classic Y token in 1970 to accompany a fare increase to 30 cents.
    
42. In 1979, for the anniversary of the Subway, the Diamond Jubilee token was unveiled. The commemorative token had a fare value of 50 cents.
    
44. In 1980, the city introduced the Solid Brass NYC token, which featured an updated design.
    
46. 1986 brought a new token called “bull’s eye,” and “fare rose to $1 a trip.”
    
48. In 1995, the MTA introduced the symbolic “Five Boroughs” token, the last token before the MetroCard, which was phased out in 2003. This token was valued at $1.50.
    
50. In 1993, the MetroCard was introduced.
    
52. When WMATA launched SmartTrip in 1999, it was the nation’s first contactless smart card for transit.
    
54. On May 31,2019, the MTA launched a pilot program of its new tap-to-pay system, known as OMNY, that is intended to replace swiping a MetroCard. The fare technology is expected to be released in phases, allowing transit officials to identify complications and find solutions prior to fully retiring the MetroCard in 2023.

History of NYC Public Transit Fares

● $0.05 (1904– July 1, 1948)

● $0.10 (July 1, 1948 – July 1, 1953)

○ Bus fare: $0.07 from 1948 until 1950 and $0.10 from 1950 till 1953

● $0.15 (July 2, 1953 – July 5, 1966 )

○ Bus fare: $0.13 from 1954 till 1955 and $0.15 from 1956 till 1966; 5th Avenue Bus line fare raised to 15 cents on January 1, 1954

● $0.20 (July 5, 1966 – January 3, 1970 )

● $0.30 (January 4, 1970 – December 31, 1971 )

● $0.35 (January 1, 1972 – August 31, 1975 (MSBA/Long Island Bus from 1973)

In December 1973, the MTA started trialing a program in which passengers could pay a single one-way fare to take round trips on the subway, buses, and railroads on Sundays. Since this resulted in higher ridership, the MTA extended it through the beginning of 1975.

● $0.50 (September 2, 1975 – June 27, 1980 )

● $0.60 (June 28, 1980 – July 2, 1981 )

● $0.75 (July 3, 1981 – January 1, 1984 )

● $0.90 (January 2, 1984 – December 31, 1985 )

● $1.00 (January 1, 1986 – December 31, 1989 )

● $1.15 (January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1991 )

● $1.25 (January 1, 1992 – November 11, 1995 )

● $1.50 (November 12, 1995 – May 3, 2003 )

● $2.00 (May 4, 2003 – June 27, 2009 )

● $2.25 (June 28, 2009 – December 29, 2010 )

● $2.25 base fare (December 30, 2010 – March 2, 2013 )

● $2.50 SingleRide MetroCard ticket fare

● $2.50 base fare (March 3, 2013 – March 21, 2015 )

● $2.75 SingleRide MetroCard ticket fare

● $2.75 base fare (March 22, 2015 – present)

● $3.00 SingleRide MetroCard ticket fare

Policy Issues

● Too old or too new? Since the system used technology that has only been tried in a few other places, the MTA is being extremely ambitious with the OMNY project. They are also putting a huge amount of confidence that the technology will work seamlessly. Contactless smartcard systems are now the standard method of paying for transit fares in many parts of the world and many people have long been perplexed about why the New York City transit system has used a system that feels very obsolete by comparison as it was developed using early 1990’s technology. The root of the problem is that New York switched from tokens to electronic reloadable fare cards a little early, before the technology developed further just 5 years later to allow for a contactless system adopted by WMATA. Although WMATA’s SmartTrip system is not without its problems, it is still a very reliable system that has completely replaced the disposable farecards that the Washington Metro used beforehand. While the system was cutting edge at the time of its installation, the technology of fare payments advanced very quickly and obsolescence by the late 2000’s was inevitable.

● Misuse of Technology As with all new technologies, the public is concerned that their personal identifying information (PII) may be put at risk in a contactless fare system. Policymakers will have to ensure that appropriate data security measures are in place and evolve as new cyber threats emerge. Furthermore, an aversion to government-operated technology systems among the general public may give rise to skepticism over this method of payment. Although this phenomenon is already taking place with the MetroCard, the fact that contactless fare payment may cross over ridership information with PII may be worrisome to certain users.

Additionally, fare evasion/insufficient funds will continue to be an issue with contactless fare technology. Systems will need to ensure collection of fares prior to boarding or the beginning of a trip to avoid freeloading off of the system. Non-collection of fares may put a burden on MTA’s bottom line.

● Advertising on Metro Cards Metro cards have long been used for advertising. Pilot programs that started in the early 2000’s undertaken to see how effective advertisements were for the Metro cards. The program was expanded in 2012 when the entire card was put on offer for advertisement space, this created a frenzy of companies placing logos and messages on New York City farecards. While advertising on transit is far from a new idea, the concept of placing advertisements on transit fare cards has rarely been done on a large scale before. The benefits of this program include added revenue from a larger cohort of advertisers and much greater flexibility of ad selection and variety than compared to using physical wraps on trains. This policy however has been criticized for creating some confusion amongst transit riders about the need for consistency in the appearance of the cards. Some have also questioned why some cards have ads while others don’t and that the fare remains the same regardless it the card has an ad or not. While the new system will feature new cards with the OMNY logo, it is yet to be seen on whether the new cards will feature ads.

● Lack of connectivity with other transit systems in the region such as, NJ transit. While the OMNY program is going to be compatible with all services operated by MTA including the subway, local buses, express buses, LIRR, and Metro-North. Compatibility with these extra services will be added in stages as OMNY begins its proving ground operations with the subway. But one notable transit agency in the region that will not be participating in ONMY is New Jersey Transit which operates NJ Transit Rail and many local and express buses that serve urban and suburban communities in Northern New Jersey. They will be using a different system developed by Conduent of Florham Park, NJ. This lack of connectivity will be notable given how most large urban areas have favored developing a single smartcard payment system that works amongst all major transit providers in an area such as WMATA for the Washington, D.C. area. While the need for connections and compatibility has been addressed within MTA, the concerns over lack of coverage with the services outside the state of New York have been a cause of concern. Advocates want the system to be as integrated with all services in the region as it can be, and as things are currently developing, a commuter from New Jersey may have to maintain 2 cards in their wallet so that both NJ Transit services and MTA services can be used conveniently. The issue has existed for a while as NJ Transit has long had their own train and bus tickets.

● Half- priced fares and Access-A-Ride New York City has instituted a system of reduced fares in recent years for enabling low-income people to use the subways in a more affordable fashion. The programs issues special Metro cards for those who qualify by submitting a request to the MTA. The introduction of the new OMNY system has been met with concerns from some advocates that the new system is inherently disadvantageous to low income subway user in that it will make it more difficult to have access to these kinds of benefits when the new system becomes dominant. MTA has not yet specified how it plans to keep these benefits going once OMNY is fully installed and operational.

● The issue of cash users. Although the new system will dispense reloadable smartcards from fare machines that accept cash, OMNY has been criticized for being another example of how technological change is making cash users feel like they are a burden. OMNY will feature credit card payment options both online and at physical fare machines that will be universally accepted. MTA has not provided details on how the new cards will be distributed to those who wish to continue to use cash to pay for their fares. WMATA in the D.C. area faced early criticism for SmartTrip cards being only available in a few select stations and that the cards cost $10 a piece. The MTA of New York will almost certainly suffer similar criticisms once these new machines that dispense OMNY cards are put into service.

Narrative of the Case

New York City’s public transportation fare payment has evolved with the demands of an expanding system. However, one could argue that fare payment technology has not kept pace with the ridership volume created by that expansion. The earliest form of fare payment was five cents in exchange for a ticket to board. In the 1920’s turnstiles were introduced to lower costs associated with operating public transit. Since turnstiles were unable to accept multiple coins for payment as fares increased, tokens became the currency to board public transit. However, tokens are unable to provide ridership data that the MTA urgently craved. Collecting data would allow for knowing “the exact location and time that every rider entered the station or boarded a bus.” In theory, this data would allow for better planned routes serving the ridership population when needed at a reduced operating cost. As such, the magnetic strip MetroCard was introduced in the early 1990’s. These Metro cards are still in use today. In May 2019, MTA launched its new tap-to-pay system, known as OMNY, that is intended to replace the MetroCard.

Unfortunately, some technologies are more adaptable than others. For example, the exchange of coins for tickets is straightforward. The later iteration of exchanging coins for tokens is also a concept that is easy to implement. Turnstiles were also easily accepted by the public. On the other hand, transitioning from tokens to the MetroCard provided challenges for both users and the MTA. The AFC made frequent errors in tracking values held on Metro cards. Turnstiles often were not able to read the cards and users found ‘hacks’ to game the system and gain free ridership.

The introduction of the new payment system for the New York City subway has been touted as a crucial step forward for the public transportation system of America’s most populous city. As other cities around the world have been aggressively adopting new technologies into their operations, the MTA has taken key notice. With the introduction of other fare payment systems that use contactless cards in the united states and some systems introducing smartphone based payment systems, the New York City subway system’s fare payment technology has become notably outdated by comparison in recent years. The system is in desperate need of an update as eventually the Metro card system will become incompatible with other technologies and the existing system would need the be maintained through contractors that no longer make the required components and software making the system much more expensive to operate. The fare payment system update is also a great way for the MTA to tout the continued advancement and upgrading of the system, as the subway has long struggled with a perception of widespread infrastructure woes due to the age of the system and has tried to find innovative ways of solving these pressing problems and restoring rider satisfaction for a city as globally important as New York.

In order to restore ridership and give the public greater satisfaction when using public transit, MTA is converting to a OMNY, a contactless fare payment system, wherein riders will be able to bypass lines to refill their Metro cards and simply tap their contactless bank cards or mobile wallet app on their smart phones to pay the fare. Metro cards, which are 25 years old, “run on OS2,” an obsolete operating system deemed “‘no longer supportable’” by MTA leadership. User experience is also expected to improve, with leaders aiming to facilitate “‘end-to-end connectivity’ across” multiple modes of MTA-offered transit. This contactless feature is supposed to support saving riders their most valued commodity - time.

From a technical standpoint, an update is a must. But an update is not without consequences for the riders who are used to the current system. The new system has such a heavy reliance on the latest technology of fare collection that some who are used to the relative simplicity and familiarity of Metro cards may be somewhat apprehensive about adopting the new system. While the benefits from the installation of the new system will only become apparent as the new fare and turnstile machines are implemented. Lessons Learned

As with all new technologies, there is an evolution throughout the birth, growth, and maturity stages. One can say that the implementation of the MetroCard was like implementing developed technology in an age that favored more innovative data tracking and management systems. It is also quite surprising that the most-used transit system in the United States has taken over 20 years, or well into the maturity stage, to adopt contactless fare payment technology. While newer metropolitan transit systems, such as WMATA in Washington, DC, were able to leverage such technology from their inception, NYC’s MTA was forced to retrofit older existing technology and infrastructure. The introduction of the OMNY fare payment system for New York City is one of the most notable developments in the story of American public transportation. The technological developments that have led New York City to this point in fare collection have been extensive and pose a unique challenge for a city where more than 1 billion rides are made on public transit within the city limits annually. With the scale of this new payment system’s implementation comes a multitude of challenges that have to be addressed and solved both before the system is designed and before it is fully tested, proven, and completely operational. Discussions about the adoption of new technology on a systemwide scale have been made within the wider New York City community, as have how these decisions will affect the way New Yorkers pay their transit fares decades to come. But some of the most important lessons have come from how the technology has already progressed and discussions about ensuring fairness in an urban space as complicated and multifaceted as New York. How an agency balances the pros and cons of a technical update like this is the key issue that can be observed from this development and what it does for the people who actually use the transit system. Does it increase efficiency over the long run? Is it a technical burden for all those involved? Is a city like New York truly ready for a system like this? Are we able to foresee the consequences and potential shortcomings to this technology? Is OMNY being truly embraced by city leadership the way MetroCard was? These questions and the lessons we can gain from the New York City experience will set a precedent for other large cities as they move from old fare collections systems to newer ones.

Discussion Questions

● How does fare payment matter for transit users? ● Does technological change make fare payment harder or easier? ● How can transit agencies learn from the experience of MetroCard to make informed decisions on when to make updates to fare payments? ● Do you think that MetroCard was a victim of its early success and age? ● How does fare payment technology evolve further beyond contactless smartcard and smartphone based payment technologies? ● Is New York City the ideal proving ground for a system like OMNY?

Assigned Readings

Spivack, Caroline. “A Guide to OMNY, the MTA’s New MetroCard-Replacing Fare System.” Curbed NY. Curbed NY, May 22, 2019. https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/22/18617849/nyc-subway-mta-omny-contactless-payment-system. “NYC Subway History: The Story of Fares, Tokens & Cards,” Living In | CitiHabitats.com, June 6, 2018, https://livingin.citihabitats.com/nyc-subway-history-the-story-of-fares-tokens-cards/.

“Mta.Info | Facts and Figures,” Mta.info, n.d., http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffhist.htm.

References

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Adam Clark Estes. “The Cursed History of NYC MetroCards.” Gizmodo. Gizmodo, October 23, 2017. https://gizmodo.com/the-cursed-history-of-nyc-metrocards-1819774428.

“Approved Fares for NYC Transit, MTA Bus, Long Island Bus and the Staten Island Railway Effective December 30, 2010.” Archive.org, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20101122052827/http://mta.info/mta/pdf/approved_fares.pdf

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https://viewing.nyc/authors/coneybeare, and Matt Coneybeare. “Check Out This Great Schematic-Style Redesign of the New York City Subway Map.” Viewing NYC. Viewing NYC, June 7, 2019. https://viewing.nyc/check-out-this-great-schematic-style-redesign-of-the-new-york-city-subway-map/.

Illson, Murray. “M.T.A. Ready for 2‐for‐1 Fare Test Tomorrow.” The New York Times, December 15, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/15/archives/mta-ready-for-2for1-fare-test-tomorrow.html.

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“Mta.Info | Facts and Figures.” Mta.info, n.d. http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffhist.htm.

“Mta.Info | New Fares - Effective March 3, 2013.” Archive.org, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130224131911/http://www.mta.info/nyct/fare/NewFares.htm.

Nonko, Emily. “The History of the New York City MetroCard | 6sqft.” 6sqft, November 8, 2017. https://www.6sqft.com/the-history-of-the-new-york-city-metrocard/.

“NYC Subway History: The Story of Fares, Tokens & Cards.” Living In | CitiHabitats.com, June 6, 2018. https://livingin.citihabitats.com/nyc-subway-history-the-story-of-fares-tokens-cards/.

“Old and New Commuter Fares in New York Area.” The New York Times, June 30, 1980. https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/30/archives/old-and-new-commuter-fares-in-new-york-area.html.

Ormsbee, Brian. “A Historical Look at the New York City Subway - 100 Years Underground.” Cooperator.com, December 2004. https://cooperator.com/article/100-years-underground/full.

Prial, Frank J. “TOKEN UNCHANGED.” The New York Times, January 5, 1972. https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/05/archives/token-unchanged-mta-also-votes-rise-in-tolls-for-bridges-and.html.

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Robinson, Douglas. “New Tokens Go on Sale in Subways.” The New York Times, January 3, 1970. https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/03/archives/new-tokens-go-on-sale-in-subways-30cent-tokens-are-put-on-sale-at.html.

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Spivack, Caroline. “A Guide to OMNY, the MTA’s New MetroCard-Replacing Fare System.” Curbed NY. Curbed NY, May 22, 2019. https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/22/18617849/nyc-subway-mta-omny-contactless-payment-system.

Steinberg, Jacques. “That Extra Dime Is a Little to Some, a Lot to Others.” The New York Times, January 1, 1992. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/01/nyregion/that-extra-dime-is-a-little-to-some-a-lot-to-others.html.

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Yohana Desta. “1904 to Today: See How New York City Subway Fare Has Climbed over 111 Years.” Mashable, March 22, 2015. https://mashable.com/2015/03/22/new-york-city-subway-fare/.