Skip to main content

CTS to expand contactless in NYC

Payment options will include a mobile app, digital wallets and tap-in bank cards 
By Ben Spencer February 9, 2021 Read time: 1 min
CTS says OMNY is to provide customers 24/7 self-service options for managing accounts (© Joseph Perone | Dreamstime.com)

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) has been awarded a $39 million contract to upgrade the fare payment system for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad in New York.

This contract expands phase four of the OMNY (One Metro New York) contract with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA) to upgrade legacy systems to a new account-based contactless fare payment system for transit, bus and railroads.

For phase four, CTS is to install vending machines and ticket office machines for travel on Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad. 

Once deployed, riders will have access to an account-based, fare payment system, enabling the use of payment options associated with OMNY, such as a mobile app, digital wallets, contactless bank cards and MTA-issued contactless transit cards.

When completed, OMNY is to provide customers with 24/7 self-service options for managing their accounts and options to purchase and reload fares online, at local retailers and at the railroads and New York City transit stations. 

CTS, whose parent company Cubic Corporation is being sold to private equity investors for $2.8bn, was selected in 2017 to design and build the OMNY system for NYMTA.

Related Content

  • Smart phones offer smarter way to pay for travel
    December 16, 2013
    David Crawford reviews developments in near field communications for mass transit payments. ‘A carefully-designed and well-implemented mobile near field communications (NFC) solutions can give passengers a compelling experience that will encourage them to make greater use of public transport.’ That was the confident conclusion of a recent joint White Paper drawn up by the International Association of Public Transport and the global mobile operators’ representative group GSMA.
  • Littlepay enables Helsinki tap-to-pay
    May 12, 2021
    Littlepay used on selected ferries and trams in Finland's capital and on buses in Tampere
  • Sacramento transit goes contactless
    April 11, 2025
    SacRT will use Tap2Ride for buses and paratransit, with light rail to follow
  • Chicago integrates regional transit fares
    December 16, 2014
    Travellers in Chicago will soon be able to use a single app to plan their journey, pay and receive real-time alerts across all public transit services in the Chicago region. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), suburban bus operator Pace and commuter rail system Metra have awarded Cubic Transportation Systems a US$5.4 million contract to supply an integrated mobile application and system supporting a wide variety of mobile ticketing, mobile top up, contactless mobile payment using Near Field Communication (