Check out the sleek new OMNY cards that will offer NYC students free rides
Here’s some news that will get NYC public school students excited about the upcoming year: city officials just announced that they will be distributing sleek new green OMNY cards to eligible pupils, granting them free subway trips throughout the week.
Replacing the school-issued MetroCards that have been issued since 1997, the new passes will be valid for 24 hours a day, 365 days a weeks. In total, each card holder will be granted four free trips daily, including weekends.
That’s a big change from how things have been handled until now: the older MetroCards offered students three free rides daily between 5:30am and 8:30pm, only when classes were in session.
Authorities are clearly making it easier and more affordable for school-aged children to take public transportation—and we are here for it.
“These expanded student OMNY cards are a game-changer for families across New York City, particularly for working-class families that need just a little more help to afford our city — families where older siblings pick their younger brothers and sisters up from school, or where kids have after-school and summer jobs to help make ends meet,” said Mayor Eric Adams during an official press event regarding the changes. “This builds on the work we’ve done to make our city more accessible, particularly for young people and low-income New Yorkers. From our subways, to our ferries, to our greenways, we’re making it easier and more affordable to get around New York City.”
In terms of specifics, the OMNY cards—which certainly look cooler, sleeker and more “avant-garde” than MetroCards—will be valid on all subway lines; local, limited and Select buses; the Staten Island Railway; the Roosevelt Island Tram and the Hudson Rail link. Free transfers from one mode of transportation to another will be part of the program as well.
Suddenly, we miss being students in this great big city of ours.