Been running the numbers every Sunday and I still can't decide. I'm in the office three days a week, sometimes four, occasionally two if my manager is out. I've been buying the 30-day unlimited for years because I don't like thinking about individual taps, but with the OMNY weekly cap I feel like I might be leaving money on the table.

Question for the people who switched: does the OMNY cap reset Monday, or is it a rolling seven days from your first tap? And for a hybrid schedule like mine, do you actually stick with OMNY, or do you go back to the monthly card after one heavy week?

I do use the train on nights and weekends too, so it's not just commute trips. That's where the math gets hazy for me.

Wait, the OMNY cap is automatic? I just moved here and I've been buying the weekly paper card at the machine because I thought tapping my debit card would just charge me full fare every time until my bank account cried.

So if I tap the same card all week, it just stops charging after I hit some limit? Does that work with Apple Pay or do I need the actual plastic card? Also does the cap include bus-to-train transfers or do those count as separate taps?

Sorry if this is basic, I'm still figuring out the difference between Express and Local half the time.

firstwinter, don't apologize — the MTA didn't exactly explain this well when they rolled it out. To answer both of you:

• The cap is specific to the payment method. A physical debit card and Apple Pay on your phone are treated as separate methods, even if they pull from the same bank account. Pick one and use it every time.
• The cap resets on a fixed Monday-to-Sunday cycle, not seven days from your first tap. If you start Friday, you only get that partial week before the counter resets.
• Transfers are handled the same way as a regular MetroCard: bus-to-subway, subway-to-bus, and bus-to-bus transfers within the window count as one paid ride for the cap. Just use the same card or device.
• Right now, I don't believe OMNY has a true monthly cap. The weekly cap covers a week, but if you ride every single day plus weekends, a 30-day unlimited often comes out ahead. If you're commuting three or four days and only taking a couple extra trips on weekends, the weekly cap usually wins.

I tested this when I dropped to a Tue/Wed/Thu office schedule last fall. I tapped the same credit card for four weeks and compared it to what I would have paid for a monthly card. It wasn't a dramatic savings, but it was enough that I stopped buying the unlimited. I checked my dashboard at the end of the month and saw exactly where the cap kicked in. If you have a heavy week — jury duty, multiple doctors' appointments, transit-heavy weekend — you can still end up spending more than a monthly card, so I keep a small cushion in my checking account.

Flatbush_F, given what you described, I'd try OMNY for one month only. Use the ridership dashboard afterward and see. Do not let the 'I don't want to think about taps' convenience be the reason you overpay, but also don't chase the cap if your schedule changes a lot.

Otis, that Monday reset is exactly what I was screwing up. I kept thinking the seven days started with my first tap. Appreciate the breakdown.

firstwinter, stick to one form of payment. I learned the hard way that the same card on your phone and in your wallet are not the same thing to the OMNY reader.

I'm going to run a one-month test. Might keep my old MetroCard loaded with a few rides as backup? But yeah, dashboard after.