In its first month, the MTA’s OMNY fare capping pilot had more than 168,000 people hit a 13th ride, earning an unlimited pass for the rest of that week. The agency said this group of straphangers had gone on to ride enough to save more than $1 million in fares. MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said at last week’s monthly MTA board meeting that these were the kind of results that could ensure the program sticks around after the four-month pilot is over. — Gothamist
Launched towards the end of February, the pilot fare program seems to be a win for both the MTA and its riders, which could prompt making it permanent. Data collected by the agency shows that 86% of people who got the bonus were subway riders, with the remaining reaching the 13th ride on buses.
More than half of the riders who got the bonus received it from a tap originating in Manhattan. The second and third most popular boroughs are Brooklyn and Queens, respectively. Riders in Staten Island only accounted for just 0.5% of the people who earned the weekly bonus, and the Bronx accounted for 5%.
In addition, recent data shows that weekend subway ridership has hovered just above 60% pre-pandemic levels, with weekday ridership being a little below 60%. Bus ridership is also around 60% of what it was before 2020. The weekly fare-capping pilot program is set to end in July and would need widespread approval to extend or expand it.
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