The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

With all the talk, reminders from the MTA and Gov. Kathy Hochul, and one very comical mock funeral held online for the long-functioning MetroCard, due to bow out Dec. 31, one would be forgiven for assuming everything is primed for a smooth transition to the OMNY-era but no….

 

As of Friday, Dec. 12, one of the last remaining MetroCard machines to be found in the north Bronx i.e. the one inside Woodlawn subway station in Norwood, the last stop on the 4 train, was once again out of order. On the same day, as has been the case for several months now, the Bee-line 20 bus, which many commuters use to connect from the 4 train to Westchester County and beyond, was not yet equipped to accept OMNY cards.

“Our beloved MetroCard is the going away of the token,” MTA CEO Janno Lieber had joked on Sept. 3 during the official opening of the new elevators at Norwood’s nearby Mosholu Parkway subway station.

 

“It’s going to heaven for fare payment media in the sky to hang out with the token,” Lieber added. But in the absence of functioning OMNY card readers on Bee-line buses [as of Dec. 29], the joke is on commuters it seems with bus travel becoming even more cumbersome than usual, and coins now being the only acceptable payment method aboard such buses.

One woman who was trying to top up her MetroCard at the machine inside Woodlawn subway station on Dec. 12, before it was rendered out of order, told Norwood News it had “eaten” her money but had not added the relevant travel credit to her card. She was seen asking an attendant for someone to come and fix the machine and said she had been waiting for two hours. The seemingly exasperated attendant explained he had already called for someone to come but was still waiting.

 

It was not the first time Norwood News witnessed such issues with the machines, nor the first time attendants explained that they cannot reimburse passengers on the spot, and that non-functioning MetroCards or OMNY cards and related receipts must be mailed to the MTA for follow-up and reimbursement.

Norwood News reached out to the MTA on Dec. 12 for comment on the OMNY reader delay on the Bee-line buses, and on the broken MetroCard machine at Woodlawn station. Though it was back in service the following day, Dec. 13, broken machines are a common occurrence.

 

On the broader issue of the decommissioning of MetroCard machines by Dec. 31, when contacted, Joana Flores, an MTA spokesperson, said on Dec. 15, “The MetroCard vending machines at stations in The Bronx that connect with Bee-Line buses will be among the last MetroCard vending machines to be decommissioned.”

She added, “For timing on the activation of OMNY validators on Bee-Line buses, I refer you to Westchester County.” Norwood News duly reached out to the Westchester County Executive for an update. We did not receive a response.

 

As of Dec. 29, the same remaining MetroCard machine at Woodlawn subway station, a hub to connect to the various Beeline buses to Westchester County, was seen already decommissioned, with a notice that read, “This machine is being removed.” Meanwhile, on the same day, the Beeline 20 bus reader was still not accepting OMNY cards. Norwood News reached out once again to the Westchester County Executive for an update. We will share any feedback we receive.

 

We had asked the MTA in mid-December to confirm if the MetroCard machine at Woodlawn station would remain operational until such time as Beeline buses accept OMNY cards. We did not receive an immediate response but will share any feedback we receive in the future. Learn more about OMNY cards here: https://omny.info/how-omny-works.

As for the MetroCard (January 1994-December 2025?) rest in limbo for now, we guess…

 

Meanwhile, those who wished to pay their respects were able to join another event on Dec. 30 to mark its demise.