Been doing the commute math and feel dumb for not checking earlier. I’m in the office three days a week now, plus I usually go back out Saturday or Sunday to see people. I’ve been auto-buying the monthly unlimited like it’s a law.

But with OMNY taps, does it actually make more sense to just ride and let the fare cap do its thing? I don’t ride enough to hit the cap every single week, so I’m probably paying for days I sit home.

What are people actually doing—unlimited, OMNY per-ride, or just tapping and hoping?

I switched to OMNY last fall and it hurts less on light weeks. If you’re not riding every day, the monthly only wins when you’re doing at least two taps a day, every day, including weekends. The cap is nice because it stops the bleeding but you still only pay for what you use. I keep an old MetroCard with a few bucks on it for the random bus-only trip.

Wait, I thought the unlimited card saves money no matter what if you take the subway enough. How does the OMNY cap work exactly? Do you have to sign up for something or does it just track your card?

I'm new to doing this with a phone. I usually just buy a weekly card when I'm not sure.

No signup if you just tap the same card or phone every time. It counts your taps, and once you hit whatever the weekly number is, the rest are free.

I learned the hard way: I always tap my watch, then one day I tapped my physical card and it started a whole new count. Same-looking face, different wallet. So now I pick one payment method and stick to it.

Yeah the same-card thing is the part people mess up. I also see people tap their phone and then their card later; that’s not the same account.

The other trick is transfers. If you’re doing subway-to-bus or bus-to-subway, don’t switch payment methods or you eat both fares. For a three-day office plus weekend, I don’t think unlimited pencils out unless you’re making extra errands after work.

Thanks for explaining. I tried it this morning with my phone and it was fine.

One thing I don’t get: if I hit the cap on Sunday, do the free rides start immediately that week, or do I have to wait until Monday? The reader just says GO so I can’t tell if I’m getting credit.

I believe the week runs Monday to Sunday, so hitting the cap on Sunday is almost useless unless you’re out all night. That’s the one case where I’d still grab a weekly card for a vacation week or a week with a weird schedule.

Other than that, I don’t miss the separate card except when the machine line at Astor Place is around the corner and I just watched my train pull in.

I still keep a prepaid card as backup because my phone dies at the worst possible time, usually right after I’ve ordered a bagel.

If you’re only regular subway and bus, per-ride with the cap probably wins for a three-day office schedule. The unlimited makes more sense when you’re doing something like six or seven days a week, or if you jump on and off the bus a lot.

Ok I think I’m going to skip the monthly next month and just tap my phone.

I did the math as best I can, but I’m not totally sure. I take the bus to the train on office days, but it sounds like transfers still count as one tap if you use the same card? I tried that today and the second tap said transfer, so I think it worked.

That transfer discount is real, but only if you keep it on the same card or phone.

I stopped my auto-renew as a half-month experiment. So far the only downside is remembering to tap the same card instead of grabbing whatever’s in my hand. If I end up paying more, I’ll switch back. But on light weeks, OMNY feels a lot less like a donation to the MTA.