RestrictOnTheHanger

Wondering why the midtown Lex stations get them first, seeing as most cash users (ones that would need OMNY cards most) would be located in other areas. Maybe has to do with easier response for maintenance teams.

Also wondering if these machines can issue some type of disposable single ride/pass ticket, like in Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver. 

What the heck happened here

trains are running with delays in both directions and service is suspended after we removed multiple vandalized trains from service.

Posted: Tue, Sep 12 2023 06:46 PM

On 9/5/2023 at 6:57 PM, mikecintel said:

So that means it can start any day like if I tap on Tuesday and let's say the same week Thursday I reach the 12 ride and I tap Friday it will be free rides starting Friday and ends next Thursday?

No. Tuesday starts a 7 day countdown till Monday of next week. So if you hit the cap on Thursday, you get free rides till 11:59 PM Monday. The countdown resets on your next tap after that, regardless if you were able to hit the cap or not.

Example 1: My first tap on Tues the 5th starts the countdown, ending on Mon the 11th (at the end of the day). I hit the cap of 12 paid rides on Thurs the 7th, I get free rides until the 11th. My next paid ride is on Weds the 13th, that starts another 7 day countdown.

Example 2, same as above but i only take 5 rides between the 5th and 11th. Nothing happens and the countdown ends with no free rides achieved. The tap on the 13th again starts a new countdown.

Rode enough on an OMNY card last week to hit the new 7 day cap, works like a charm! Though it looks like after your first tap starts a new "countdown" period, the end date is fixed and the cap is not rolling. Example , first tap is a Sunday, the end date is a Saturday and your progress resets the following Sunday (and does not start again until your next tap)

11 minutes ago, RTOMan said:

No GO extra Romeo Crews on the PMs just on the AMs...

Maybe they'll fill the C/R jobs this time they didn't do it Monday resulting in a lot of ABDs...

Someone got a DAN for that in the Crew Office im sure..

Maybe, maybe not.

Not a good first day, multiple gaps in service during the day of 15+ minutes, a loss of power at 57/6 in the morning, and as I write this an is terminating at Queens Plaza due to a switch problem at 57/6

Update now some are being sent to Jackson Heights Roosevelt Ave via QBL local and some via crosstown 

19 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

If anyone uses an actual OMNY card, with it set to auto-fill after the balance dips below X amount, how quickly does the refill get processed after the balance dips below that X amount?

Within minutes of the fare being posted that brings you below the threshold. Which itself also only takes a few minutes. You will get an email when the reload occurs. 

OMNY has a message on the home page welcoming RI tram riders. Looks like some progress is being made with "affiliates"

Roosevelt Island Tram turnstile prep work is beginning, agreement with MTA for OMNY is pending

On 7/19/2023 at 10:50 AM, RTOMan said:

Another interesting thing..

Now once the train enters 21st  NB and Punches the Homesignal displays a CBTC aspect, as well as all the other signals on T2 track leading up to X544 homesignal just south of 36th street..

Noticed this on Tuesday coming home from work... Does CBTC still enforce the old one and two shot GTs on the curves right before the interlocking? Wasnt easy to determine because the home signal was at stop anyway for a crossing

Queens Plaza is a mess, more often than not trains are creeping into the station. Causes backups all along 53rd St too.

Is this being caused by the zone controller issue? What exactly is the problem with them?

This GO is either a cause or effect of delaying the 63rd St project. Hopefully the QBL CBTC issues can be sorted out once that project starts. 

Wasn't there a switch replacement in that area recently? Or am I thinking of the interlocking upgrade in 2019 

Supposedly rolling 7 day capping coming later

The only items of note were pilot OMNY vending machines coming some time in Q2 and a B2B portal, which would enable pretax and other outside sale uses. 

The various merges are going to be a real headache during rush hour, even with reduced service. Especially at Queens Plaza where trains have to crawl up to the switches if they are reversed, let's hope CBTC issues are resolved soon.

The materials say that leaving the running in Queens is dependent on a feasibility analysis. So if that doesn't pan out, why not consider cutting the to Chambers , and running 8 or 10 car trains to 71st via QBL local during the week.  Unless CBTC crew training or other constraints won't allow that.

Also won't the via 63rd during phase 2 conflict with the upcoming long term QBL East GO that has evening ending at Queens Plaza...

On 3/10/2023 at 5:46 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

They must be getting too many processing fees from people loading a $dollar or two on the card.  $5.50 represents two rides on the local bus or subway.

I remember reading in the specs or other documents that batching transactions would be a feature to reduce swipe fees, along with negotiating with card networks. In theory this should extend to the website but based on this change, guess not. 

Speaking of batching, I used my phone instead of my OMNY card for a SBS trip and was not charged until early the next morning despite the trip posting on the OMNY site real time. I wonder if all contactless transactions are now being batched and aggregated as described above. 

7 minutes ago, mikecintel said:

Where did you get the information? 

Trying to reload my card on the OMNY site myself. I don't know if this change affects the load required when you buy a card. 

The minimum card reload amount on the OMNY site is now $5.50, used to be $1. This was a very recent change

QBL East CBTC is ramping up, there's a press release that starting 3/17:

71 Ave bound trains will terminate at Queens Plaza after 930PM, no change to Brooklyn bound service

Jamaica bound and trains will run local after 930PM

Brooklyn bound trains run local starting at 1045PM. No change to local WTC bound service 

No mention of service changes. 

Apparently this is because of the loss of layup space East of 71 Ave

Got this message while logging on to wifi on bus 1357

Please note that free public Wi-Fi on board buses will be discontinued effective mid-January 2023 due to low usage. We apologize for any inconvenience.
 

On 10/22/2022 at 8:07 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I don't see the big deal about an OMNY virtual card, but I suppose they think lots of people will want to pay by phone via OMNY (that is what I have observed anyway).

Probably a combination of many people asking for the feature and being able to produce less physical OMNY cards. The virtual card was brought back in scope when the chip/card shortage was becoming evident a year or 2 ago.

WMATA and CTA (Chicago) offer virtual cards , and I think both charge a new card fee for them. I hope OMNY doesn't charge a fee.

Took the Q70 home from LGA a few days ago, and saw how OMNY (doesnt) work with the service being free. All the OMNY readers on the bus are green with the GO message. If you try to tap a card, it will not register at all. Guess they have a special program for free routes that is very similar to the subway shuttles. 

Someone I know, while not hitting the cap, was able to use their OMNY card with only $1.75 left , and going negative by $1. The balance was low for a few weeks so it wasnt like they just took a few rides all at once. 

A few minutes after , they got an email saying the card is suspended. Once they paid online to bring the balance back above 0 , card was reactivated no issues. 

The same Youtube channel that posted the video above posted another video with New flashing red over flashing red signal aspects at Ave X. The description and comments say that the flashing does not change the signal's stop indication, but is a reminder to punch for a route, and the flashing stops once punched. Can anyone else confirm this, and if more signals will have this aspect in the future?