OMNY Implementation/Metro-Card Retirement Discussion Thread

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 hours ago, azspeedbullet said:

Long Island city

 

i went to two different 711, one on Thomson ave and the other on northern blvd. they have the cards in stock but are unable to activate it. They are unable to scan it on the register 

I got mine at 23rd and Park Av South last October I believe. They run out fast though so I would call to make sure they have them. 

@mikecintel That is the best thing to do, but if you get someone on the phone that is incompetent, it still won't help. I initially called a Check Cashing place because someone else told me that they get their OMNY card there and so I called them. They had them in stock, but the scanner was broken so it was a wasted trip. I was pissed. I just got lucky and went over to that 7/11.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[mikecintel]

40 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I got mine at 23rd and Park Av South last October I believe. They run out fast though so I would call to make sure they have them. 

@mikecintel That is the best thing to do, but if you get someone on the phone that is incompetent, it still won't help. I initially called a Check Cashing place because someone else told me that they get their OMNY card there and so I called them. They had them in stock, but the scanner was broken so it was a wasted trip. I was pissed. I just got lucky and went over to that 7/11.

I see.  Yes you are right if they say it is "in stock" but the scanner will not work that will be a wasted trip and your time.  I can imagine that you were pissed.  If that happened to me I would pissed to and I just go across the street to 711 like you.

[azspeedbullet]

I went to CVS in sunnyside on 41st and queens blvd to get the omny card. seem like there is a issue with 711 system. no problems at cvs

[Via Garibaldi 8]

13 minutes ago, azspeedbullet said:

I went to CVS in sunnyside on 41st and queens blvd to get the omny card. seem like there is a issue with 711 system. no problems at cvs

Flad everything worked out. You can refill online if that's convenient at the omny.info website.

[mikecintel]

58 minutes ago, azspeedbullet said:

I went to CVS in sunnyside on 41st and queens blvd to get the omny card. seem like there is a issue with 711 system. no problems at cvs

Great I am glad you got your OMNY card and it was activated. Congrats!

[7-express]

Does anyone know how long it takes for OMNY to resolve a disputed ride?  I disputed a double charge from earlier this week (turnstile stayed white and wouldn't let me through so I had to switch to another one) but I haven't heard back since.

Previously with the EasyPay MetroCard, payment disputes via email would be resolved relatively quickly, usually within 48 hours.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

5 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Does anyone know how long it takes for OMNY to resolve a disputed ride?  I disputed a double charge from earlier this week (turnstile stayed white and wouldn't let me through so I had to switch to another one) but I haven't heard back since.

Previously with the EasyPay MetroCard, payment disputes via email would be resolved relatively quickly, usually within 48 hours.

Depends on how you did it, but I called them in the past to be refunded & I recall getting it back in a few days. Did you call them or do it via the OMNY website?

[mikecintel]

I just read from AMNY about there will be MORE OMNY discount.  This is good news.The link here https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-discounts-fare-cap-janno-lieber/

I will take bit and pieces from the article :

- The pilot is set to last at least four months through the end of June.
- The MTA plans to phase out the MetroCard sometime in 2024. 
- In the U.K., Transport for London has daily and weekly caps, while out west in Portland, Oregon, the TriMet transit system offers daily and monthly caps.

New York should also implement a cap but for monthly periods, according to transit boosters.  

A monthly cap in the Big Apple could benefit more low-income New Yorkers who may not be able to afford shelling out $127 upfront for a monthly MetroCard, according to advocacy group TransitCenter.

“We have been really encouraged by comments form chairman Lieber about how the agency wants to incorporate equity into its fare policy,” said the organization’s spokesperson Haley Richardson. “To really follow through on that commitment we need to see discounts to riders who need it the most.”

Then I read from the MTA Press Release https://new.mta.info/press-release/transcript-mta-chair-and-ceo-lieber-remarks-crains-new-york-business-power-breakfast (May 11, 2022)

I will also take bit and pieces from the article :

Schouten: In the same vein of questioning, I'm curious about the timing of commutes and the day parts, I mean, hybrid work, it tends to be Mondays and Fridays or less maybe …  

Leiber: No kidding 

Schouten: Are you adding, are you adjusting schedules?  

Lieber: No, no, we're starting to look at that. The ridership. The peak is back. As I said let's lower volumes but the peaking that was our pattern of travel is back so people are coming to work in time of day, the more regular pattern. The shoulders are a little longer. Part of it is a mix of riders or office workers means that a large proportion of students may go earlier, and essential workers and so on. But the peak is back. But there's no question that Tuesday through Thursday have become the very strong days in ridership, and Monday and Friday less so. So what we're going to look at is, does that mean adjustment service?  

I don't know that we would adjust peak service, but I'm especially interested in strengthening the appeal of discretionary travel periods like weekends and night times and we’re spending some time looking at that. Rich Davey, great new head of New York City Transit. Great guy, ran the Boston MBTA system, was the Secretary of Transportation for Deval Patrick in Massachusetts. He is really starting to dig in on how we might adjust nights and weekends to make it a little more appealing.  

From the look of this I hope they can give discounts like the weekends and night time.  Hmmm this sounds to be good.

[mikecintel]

25 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Does anyone know how long it takes for OMNY to resolve a disputed ride?  I disputed a double charge from earlier this week (turnstile stayed white and wouldn't let me through so I had to switch to another one) but I haven't heard back since.

Previously with the EasyPay MetroCard, payment disputes via email would be resolved relatively quickly, usually within 48 hours.

I usually call the OMNY number to get that fix and after a day or so it is fixed.  It's better to call and speak to a live human.  Are you using an OMNY card?  I used my OMNY card and if it is a double charge it "credits" you right back without you calling them.

[7-express]

27 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Depends on how you did it, but I called them in the past to be refunded & I recall getting it back in a few days. Did you call them or do it via the OMNY website?

Sorry I meant to clarify that I did it though the website.  I'll give them till next week but will otherwise give them a ring since it seems you and @mikecintel have had better luck with this route.

[7-express]

9 minutes ago, mikecintel said:

I usually call the OMNY number to get that fix and after a day or so it is fixed.  It's better to call and speak to a live human.  Are you using an OMNY card?  I used my OMNY card and if it is a double charge it "credits" you right back without you calling them.

I was using my OMNY card and only did the online dispute since it seemed easier to push a couple buttons at the time.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

6 minutes ago, 7-express said:

I was using my OMNY card and only did the online dispute since it seemed easier to push a couple buttons at the time.

Oh that's interesting. So far I have not had any random charges on my OMNY card. The charges I had to dispute were on my debit & credit cards. OMNY was never able to resolve those, even after repeated phone calls where they told me that the issue was resolved and refunded me, so I ultimately decided to cancel cards (I think it was three of them) and get new cards, which resolved the issue.  I am very curious about what they do with your OMNY card though. 

What was alarming for me was they were charging me on days when I wasn't even traveling and the "bus route" would just say "Other" when I would review the charges online in my OMNY account. Usually for $2.75, but sometimes for other small random amounts.  Since I was only taking the express bus at the time, I automatically knew something was wrong, as all of my charges should've been for $6.75. Now on occasion, I have been charged $2.75 when tapping on an express bus, so that means that some OMNY readers are not set up right or perhaps may have software issues to begin with and so they are doing things like "recovering" monies for trips that weren't even taken.

There are also times when the reader says "GO", but I am not charged anything, and there is never a "Recovery" attempt to collect the funds.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[7-express]

1 minute ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Oh that's interesting. So far I have not had any random charges on my OMNY card. The charges I had to dispute were on my debit & credit cards. OMNY was never able to resolve those, even after repeated phone calls where they told me that the issue was resolved and refunded me, so I ultimately decided to cancel cards (I think it was three of them) and get new cards, which resolved the issue.  I am very curious about what they do with your OMNY card though.  What was alarming for me was they were charging me on days when I wasn't even traveling and the "bus route" would just say "Other". Usually for $2.75, but sometimes for other small random amounts.  Since I was only taking the express bus at the time, I automatically knew something was wrong, as all of my charges should've been for $6.75. Now on occasion, I have been charged $2.75 when tapping on an express bus, so that means that some OMNY readers are not set up right or perhaps may have software issues to begin with and so they are doing things like "recovering" monies for trips that weren't even taken.

Well at least this time I kinda knew why the double charge showed due to me being forced to use a second turnstile.  But I guess this will be my benchmark of how the OMNY.info online dispute system works and whether it'll be worth dealing with it in the future.  They sent me an automated email saying they're going to look into it and keep me updated but no timeline on how many business days it would take like some other companies would with support/service requests.

I'm hoping the OMNY card itself doesn't have phantom charges like I've heard for some CC/debit cards, which I have a feeling is an artifact of their method of processing CC/debit charges.  That's one reason I'm using an OMNY card besides my WageWorks commuter card.  Also didn't want to kill a bunch of time auditing CC line item charges per ride when it can be contained within the OMNY system and I just get a fixed amount charged when my balance dips below the refill threshold.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

10 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Well at least this time I kinda knew why the double charge showed due to me being forced to use a second turnstile.  But I guess this will be my benchmark of how the OMNY.info online dispute system works and whether it'll be worth dealing with it in the future.  They sent me an automated email saying they're going to look into it and keep me updated but no timeline on how many business days it would take like some other companies would with support/service requests.

I'm hoping the OMNY card itself doesn't have phantom charges like I've heard for some CC/debit cards, which I have a feeling is an artifact of their method of processing CC/debit charges.  That's one reason I'm using an OMNY card besides my WageWorks commuter card.  Also didn't want to kill a bunch of time auditing CC line item charges per ride when it can be contained within the OMNY system and I just get a fixed amount charged when my balance dips below the refill threshold.

Oh so that's the reason. I have encountered a few OMNY readers that gave me trouble at some subway stations, where I had to tap several times, and I did actually switch to another turnstile in one instance, but after the other one didn't work, I went back and tapped a third time at the original turnstile with no issue and luckily no double charges either.  

The reason you mentioned about phantom charges was exact reason I switched to an OMNY card as soon as I could find one.  What's nice about this is I just load the amount I need to travel for the day or thereabouts and if there is an issue, well I can cancel the card without being seriously inconvenienced and just pick up another one for $5.00 (plus the $1.00 to load the card).

As far as following up, personally I would call them and follow up.  In a few instances someone from OMNY left me a voice message on my cell phone saying they were working on my issue, and I didn't wait. I called them and asked to speak with the person to ensure that the issue was resolved because to be honest with you, sometimes the people you may speak with have no idea what the issue is or how to resolve it. At one of the Board meetings, one of the board members admitted that they are still having software issues and that is the major reason that the rollout of other programs like the Reduced Fare OMNY cards have been delayed (aside from the pandemic).  I feel like the issues I've encountered will only worsen as more people start using OMNY. So far, most of the issues of late have worked out in my favor, as I encounter at least one broken OMNY reader every so many weeks.  I don't know how they can afford to have that happen so often, but whatever. That's their problem. lol

Edited May 12, 2022 by Via Garibaldi 8

[mikecintel]

10 minutes ago, 7-express said:

Well at least this time I kinda knew why the double charge showed due to me being forced to use a second turnstile.  But I guess this will be my benchmark of how the OMNY.info online dispute system works and whether it'll be worth dealing with it in the future.  They sent me an automated email saying they're going to look into it and keep me updated but no timeline on how many business days it would take like some other companies would with support/service requests.

I'm hoping the OMNY card itself doesn't have phantom charges like I've heard for some CC/debit cards, which I have a feeling is an artifact of their method of processing CC/debit charges.  That's one reason I'm using an OMNY card besides my WageWorks commuter card.  Also didn't want to kill a bunch of time auditing CC line item charges per ride when it can be contained within the OMNY system and I just get a fixed amount charged when my balance dips below the refill threshold.

So far I haven't seen a phantom charges on my OMNY card.  My CC cards never had phantom charges too and it was never double charged on my CC card.  The only thing was my OMNY it charged and it got an error and it automatically refunded me without calling CS.

[mikecintel]

20 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Oh that's interesting. So far I have not had any random charges on my OMNY card. The charges I had to dispute were on my debit & credit cards. OMNY was never able to resolve those, even after repeated phone calls where they told me that the issue was resolved and refunded me, so I ultimately decided to cancel cards (I think it was three of them) and get new cards, which resolved the issue.  I am very curious about what they do with your OMNY card though. 

What was alarming for me was they were charging me on days when I wasn't even traveling and the "bus route" would just say "Other" when I would review the charges online in my OMNY account. Usually for $2.75, but sometimes for other small random amounts.  Since I was only taking the express bus at the time, I automatically knew something was wrong, as all of my charges should've been for $6.75. Now on occasion, I have been charged $2.75 when tapping on an express bus, so that means that some OMNY readers are not set up right or perhaps may have software issues to begin with and so they are doing things like "recovering" monies for trips that weren't even taken.

There are also times when the reader says "GO", but I am not charged anything, and there is never a "Recovery" attempt to collect the funds.

When I look at my OMNY account and take the bus it says "Other" too and not the B1 or another bus I have to take.  Sometime instead of saying B1 it says "Ulmer Park (ULPK)" which I don't why but that is the B1 bus.  Anyway it doesn't matter as long as it gets me where I have to work that is good.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, mikecintel said:

When I look at my OMNY account and take the bus it says "Other" too and not the B1 or another bus I have to take.  Sometime instead of saying B1 it says "Ulmer Park (ULPK)" which I don't why but that is the B1 bus.  Anyway it doesn't matter as long as it gets me where I have to work that is good.

Yeah, it's fine, as long as you aren't overcharged.  Unfortunately, I was in a few instances.

[mikecintel]

4 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah, it's fine, as long as you aren't overcharged.  Unfortunately, I was in a few instances.

Yes that is right.  Sorry to hear that you were overcharged.

[7-express]

29 minutes ago, mikecintel said:

When I look at my OMNY account and take the bus it says "Other" too and not the B1 or another bus I have to take.  Sometime instead of saying B1 it says "Ulmer Park (ULPK)" which I don't why but that is the B1 bus.  Anyway it doesn't matter as long as it gets me where I have to work that is good.

That reminds me of how MTA buses were coded in the EasyPay MetroCard system as just College Point instead of the actual bus route.  I thought they fixed that because OMNY.info shows me riding the QM2/20 under Trips.

[7-express]

37 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Oh so that's the reason. I have encountered a few OMNY readers that gave me trouble at some subway stations, where I had to tap several times, and I did actually switch to another turnstile in one instance, but after the other one didn't work, I went back and tapped a third time at the original turnstile with no issue and luckily no double charges either.  

The reason you mentioned about phantom charges was exact reason I switched to an OMNY card as soon as I could find one.  What's nice about this is I just load the amount I need to travel for the day or thereabouts and if there is an issue, well I can cancel the card without being seriously inconvenienced and just pick up another one for $5.00 (plus the $1.00 to load the card).

As far as following up, personally I would call them and follow up.  In a few instances someone from OMNY left me a voice message on my cell phone saying they were working on my issue, and I didn't wait. I called them and asked to speak with the person to ensure that the issue was resolved because to be honest with you, sometimes the people you may speak with have no idea what the issue is or how to resolve it. At one of the Board meetings, one of the board members admitted that they are still having software issues and that is the major reason that the rollout of other programs like the Reduced Fare OMNY cards have been delayed (aside from the pandemic).  I feel like the issues I've encountered will only worsen as more people start using OMNY. So far, most of the issues of late have worked out in my favor, as I encounter at least one broken OMNY reader every so many weeks.  I don't know how they can afford to have that happen so often, but whatever. That's their problem. lol

I've done the turnstile switch once before due to an OMNY reader that didn't let me through and wasn't double charged for that.  Just didn't get lucky this week.

I'm fine with the broken readers for now...had a red OMNY reader on the QM20 not too long ago and the driver just hit the a button recording everyone entering and waved us on board.  Oddly enough, the reader was back to blue and seemed functional by the time we got into Manhattan.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, 7-express said:

I've done the turnstile switch once before due to an OMNY reader that didn't let me through and wasn't double charged for that.  Just didn't get lucky this week.

I'm fine with the broken readers for now...had a red OMNY reader on the QM20 not too long ago and the driver just hit the a button recording everyone entering and waved us on board.  Oddly enough, the reader was back to blue and seemed functional by the time we got into Manhattan.

Yeah, he was likely pressing the F5 button. lol Sometimes they take a while to turn on.

[mikecintel]

5 hours ago, 7-express said:

That reminds me of how MTA buses were coded in the EasyPay MetroCard system as just College Point instead of the actual bus route.  I thought they fixed that because OMNY.info shows me riding the QM2/20 under Trips.

Oh I never knew that because I never had a EasyPay Metro Card before. I never did a automatic load on my Metro Card.

[mikecintel]

5 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Yeah, he was likely pressing the F5 button. lol Sometimes they take a while to turn on.

Ahh now I know what that sound is when the fare box is broken and the drive press a button.  The F5 button is it to "Bypass" to let the passenger not paying meaning its "Broken"?.  I  work in I.T. and all I know the F5 on the kybd means "Refresh" the screen.  Oh yes sometimes it does take a while a turn on.  When it turns on I pay it back so they can't say " I didn't pay the fare" and also it goes faster to fulfill the ride towards the $33.

Edited May 13, 2022 by mikecintel

[danielhg121]

3 hours ago, mikecintel said:

Ahh now I know what that sound is when the fare box is broken and the drive press a button.  The F5 button is it to "Bypass" to let the passenger not paying meaning its "Broken"?.  I  work in I.T. and all I know the F5 on the kybd means "Refresh" the screen.  Oh yes sometimes it does take a while a turn on.  When it turns on I pay it back so they can't say " I didn't pay the fare" and also it goes faster to fulfill the ride towards the $33.

The F5 is basically the short-drop or farebeater button. It essentially records the number of passengers that didn't pay the fare so while the agency may not be collecting any revenue, they are still recording the ridership that takes that particular run. From the ridership statistics, the agency can choose to add or decrease service. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

16 hours ago, 7-express said:

That reminds me of how MTA buses were coded in the EasyPay MetroCard system as just College Point instead of the actual bus route.  I thought they fixed that because OMNY.info shows me riding the QM2/20 under Trips.

They did, but that "other" comes up with I guess the software doesn't work properly as it should. For example, I tapped on an express bus, and it said "other" and only charged $2.75. Obviously an error somewhere.