Gothamist77%
Kids demand fixes to NYC's student OMNY cards, saying flaws encourage fare evasion 0%
By Jessica Gould0%
3/29/2026, 7:01:01 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Anecdotal, Availability Heuristic, and Pessimism Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 36.3% saturation with 264 hits. Analysis detected 1,672 faulty-reasoning hits from 728 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 0% and a BS Rank of 0% (0 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 100.00% of the article peer group.
New York City kids are clamoring for an overhaul to the student OMNY card program, saying the cards are too flimsy and function inconsistently, draining their wallets and inviting clashes with the police when they’re forced to skip the fare.
“These cards do not survive the whole year.
This is my sixth one,” said Vinny Dong, a sophomore at Queens High School for the Sciences.
“Rain?
Gone!
Snow?
Gone!
You shove it in your phone too hard?
Gone!”
He was among more than a dozen parents and students who criticized the student OMNY cards at a Panel for Education Policy meeting Thursday night.
The free student OMNY cards debuted in fall 2024, increasing free transportation access for hundreds of thousands of students.
Since then, students who live more than a half-mile from school and don’t ride a yellow bus have been eligible for a free OMNY card covering four subway or bus rides a day.
Many at the Thursday meeting said the student cards, which are made of a flexible material reminiscent of MetroCards, should be the same as the credit card-like OMNY cards sold in subway vending machines.
Dong was among several speakers who said there should be universal access to the cards, instead of limiting eligibility to kids who live more than a half-mile from school and excluding those who ride the city’s yellow buses.
The Panel for Education Policy, which approves education department contracts, passed a resolution calling for universal access to student OMNY cards, unlimited rides, durable material and faster replacements.
Some students and parents voiced worries that malfunctioning cards and delays in replacing them encourage fare evasion.
“ Missing school isn't a realistic option, so some students may be forced to jump turnstiles or enter through emergency doors just so they can get to class on time,” said Isaiah Tandjung, a senior at Francis Lewis High School.
The student OMNY rides are valid all day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and mark a significant expansion from the now-defunct student MetroCards.
The old student MetroCards allowed three rides a day from 5:30 a.m to 8:30 p.m., only on school days.
But students have been flagging problems with damaged or dysfunctional cards, which are thicker than a MetroCard but can still wilt and malfunction when wet or bent.
They said it can take weeks or even months for lost or damaged cards to be replaced.
MTA officials said last spring they were exploring a hardier material for the student cards, and a pilot that allows them to be uploaded into smartphones.
But the pilot initially scheduled for fall has not launched yet.
MTA spokesperson Kayla Shults said the agency is working with the education department to develop a digital pass for students.
Standing outside the Spring Street station in SoHo recently, several students from Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School bemoaned the difficulties they’ve faced with the student OMNY card.
“ Literally this morning I was trying to get on to my train station and I was trying to use my OMNY but it kept saying, tap again, tap again, tap again, card not accepted, card not accepted, card not accepted,” said Anthony Reid, a sophomore at the school.
After multiple attempts, he said the card finally registered.
“So it's just a constant battle between it working and it not working.
And it's fluctuating too much for my sanity to be honest.”
He said the fare increase to $3 only made matters worse.
Classmate Justin Nicholson said he forks over the fare when his OMNY card doesn’t work, but he knows plenty of teens who don’t and jump the turnstile.
“In a city that never stops moving, it's always such an inconvenience when you miss your mode of transportation to get where you need to go,” Nicholson said.
The transit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has also been lobbying for improvements to student OMNY cards.
"Hundreds of thousands of students are excluded entirely, while others are stuck navigating a system with strict ride caps, unreliable card replacements, and sudden deactivations that can leave them stranded for weeks,” said the group’s youth and schools organizer Lauren Newman.
“That often means paying out of pocket, missing school or work, or risking a ticket just to get where they need to go."
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100%flagged-word coverageLauren Newman
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