New York City’s Department of Education has recently implemented the OMNY card system in public schools, making transportation more accessible and efficient for students. The card allows students to “take up to 4 free trips every day of the week, any time of the day,” according to New York City Public Schools. From tapping the card for rides, using the card on weekends and offering more swipes, students find it convenient, not only those who live far from school, but also students who travel to Queens College for classes.
“The cards are better and more useful. It’s easier when hanging out with your friends during the weekend, too,” said freshman Katy Wu.
Ethan Yakubov, a senior, also noted that its flexibility is a huge plus.
“We are able to use them seven days of the week, holidays, summer, all hours of the day,” said Yakubov.
Emma Magda, another senior, is grateful for the card’s unlimited uses.
“The system is much better because I can use it on the weekends now,” said Magda. “I used to fight tooth and nail to get a card that only had four rides.”
However, several students expressed concerns regarding the quality of the cards because they’re made from paper and can get easily ruined.
“My card got wet once and I had to leave it on the heater for a while,” said sophomore Sana Bouziri. “The con is that it is not paper laminated.”
While the new OMNY cards offer better accessibility, students still see areas for improvement, such as making the cards plastic and fixing the technical glitches.
“Every once in a while the card doesn’t scan and shows up as an error,” said Yakubov. “I like the old one better, where this issue wasn’t as common,” he said.
But overall students are satisfied with the switch to OMNY.
“I like using metro cards because of their material and it’s nostalgic, but OMNY is more convenient,” said Magda.
