OMNY vending machines will be rolling out at subway stations across the city this summer, MTA officials announced this week.

The new vending machines are expected to be installed at every subway station in the city by September, officials said during an MTA committee meeting Monday.

The machines will distribute OMNY fare cards, which can be used as an alternative to a smartphone, contactless credit card or other wearable smart device required to access the MTA’s tap-to-pay system.

What You Need To Know

  • OMNY vending machines are expected to be installed at every subway station in the city by September

  • OMNY readers are also being installed at entrances to the Roosevelt Island Tramway and at least one entrance to the JFK AirTrain

  • Changes may also be coming to the MTA’s fare-capping program

However, officials on Monday confirmed the MetroCard will not be phased out by the end of 2023, as previously planned, while the agency restructures its OMNY timeline.

“It was time for this project to be reexamined and subjected to a reevaluation of how it’s proceeding, because the scope issues and changing technology issues and frankly, contractor delivery issues were creating a backlog,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said.

Part of the reason for the delay stems from issues the MTA has had with a potential OMNY rollout on the MetroNorth Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road, both of which use a separate ticketing system.

“The remaining issues are serious enough that we had to re-baseline the schedule fully,” Lieber said. “We also had to resolve, once and for all honestly, lingering scope issues, especially as it pertains to the railroads. What do we want this OMNY thing to do for the railroads in an environment where we have a very successful ticketing application that the riders are using — and when we're not using OMNY, at this time, for gating or anything like that in the railroad environment?”

The MTA, however, does plan to add OMNY readers at entrances to the Roosevelt Island Tramway and at least one entrance to the JFK AirTrain sometime before Thanksgiving, according to officials. Both can currently only be accessed using a MetroCard.

Changes may also be coming to the MTA’s fare-capping program, which allows riders who pay the $2.75 transit fare 12 times via OMNY during a seven-day period, starting Monday and ending Sunday, to ride free for the remainder of the week.

Lieber said the agency is looking into allowing riders to begin swiping toward unlimited rides on any day of the week.