Maybe I’m overthinking this, but after a weird trip to LaGuardia last week I need to know how the M60 rear-door thing actually works now. I don't take the M60 often—usually I'm on the ferry side—but I met a friend at 125th Street and we got on at the back with our bags. I tapped the OMNY reader at the third door the way I do on the M15 SBS in Manhattan, got a green check, and thought I was fine. A regular standing by the rear door looked at me like I'd stolen something and said 'you're supposed to get the slip.' I told him OMNY doesn't do slips, but he insisted inspectors at LGA only take paper.

Sure enough, at the airport stop two fare inspectors got on and started scanning cards. They checked an older couple with a paper receipt, then checked my OMNY account with a handheld reader, and didn't say anything. Another woman with a MetroCard and no slip got a hard time. So my question: is the OMNY tap at the rear door real proof of payment, or did I just luck out? Also, what happens if the rear OMNY reader is dead—do I walk to the front and hold everyone up? And does a pay-per-ride MetroCard still require that little paper receipt at the curb machine? I’d like to stop guessing before I end up late for a flight.

Maybe the MTA could throw a sticker on the rear door that says 'OMNY tap here is valid,' but I won't hold my breath.

I’ve taken the M60 from 125th when the 4/5/6 is messed up. The rear doors on that route are a straight-up crapshoot. Sometimes the reader works, sometimes it’s dark. If I’m carrying a bag I’ll just go in the front and tap so I can see green. The driver isn’t gonna chase you, but why get stopped at LGA with luggage and no receipt when you’re already late.

Sue, you lucked out only in the sense that the inspector was using a working handheld. The official policy on the M60 SBS is proof-of-payment: if you pay with OMNY by tapping any door reader, that's your proof, because your card or phone holds the record. If you pay with a MetroCard—including unlimited or pay-per-ride—you need to dip it at the curb machine at the stop and get a paper SBS receipt before boarding, unless you board at the front and the operator lets you dip there, which is inconsistent. That's the part nobody explains to tourists and half the driver posts skip.

But here's the caveat: the rear readers on the M60 are not as reliable as they should be. I've seen them completely dark at 125th, on the older articulated buses especially, and the driver will sometimes make an announcement to board at the front. If you board through the rear with a dead reader and no receipt, you're betting on either a broken handheld scanner or an inspector who doesn't feel like arguing. I wouldn't make that bet with a flight on the line.

My own rule is simple: OMNY and green check equals board; MetroCard means get the damn slip or go to the front. If the machine is broken, either wait and film the machine or get the driver's attention before you step on. Don't just ride with nothing.

So if I have unlimited MetroCard and just wave it onboard, I'm basically holding no proof? That explains why the inspector was side-eyeing me last fall.

astoria_arch, do the inspectors still go hard at LGA, or is it just random?

EastHarlem_E, that's exactly the problem with unlimited MetroCards on SBS—the card itself proves you have an unlimited product, but not that you activated it for that particular trip. Astoria_arch is right that the official line is 'MetroCard receipt or front door,' but enforcement can be different from the official line. At LGA last Sunday I saw the same inspectors work the line at the terminal stop. They were not playing around: they scanned OMNY, checked paper receipts, and one woman who'd boarded at 106th with a MetroCard and no receipt was told to step off and got a summons. I asked the inspector, very politely, what she was supposed to do if the street machine at 106th was broken, and he said 'board at the front and tell the driver.' That's it—it's on the passenger to create a paper trail, even if the agency created the broken machine.

For the original question, the OMNY tap at the rear should be enough, but I'd add one practical caveat: if you ever need to dispute something, have the OMNY charge show up in your account. It isn't always instant, and the inspector's handheld might not see it if the equipment hasn't synced yet. So tapping at least five minutes before the inspector gets on is not a real guarantee, but it's better than nothing. I still think we need a bigger, clearer sign at every door: 'OMNY tap is proof; MetroCard users need a paper receipt or front-door payment.'

Sue is right about screenshotting the OMNY history, but the MTA's own system only updates after a few hours sometimes, so an inspector may not see the tap yet. I've had inspectors accept the little 'tap accepted' green screen, but not always. The real issue is the rear door readers on articulated M60s are often stuck in sleep mode. I had one driver at 125th call out 'readers are down, front board only' but of course half the bus had already piled in. If you're heading to LGA with luggage, the front at least gives you a chance to explain yourself before an inspector decides you're fare-beating.

Man, I got popped once on the M34A years ago when the machine swallowed my MetroCard and didn't print. Inspector didn't care. I just paid it to avoid court. Ever since I use OMNY on SBS. Cash on a bus is basically a museum piece now anyway.

EastHarlem_E, that's the real-world enforcement problem—when you try to comply and the equipment fails, you get punished. I've seen a line at the 125th St machine on a rainy Friday where everyone missed three buses because the receipt slot was jammed. A driver actually called over the dispatcher to wave people on. That's the confusion. If the MTA is going to run proof-of-payment, the machines and readers need to be as reliable as the bus itself. Maybe that's too much to ask, but at least a working rear door reader shouldn't be the exception.

The missing piece is that SBS was designed around sidewalk machines and paper receipts, and OMNY got bolted on later. So you have two systems that don't teach people the same habit. At Astoria Blvd, the OMNY readers are on the sidewalk machine only on the driver side, not all stops. I've watched elderly riders try to swipe a MetroCard at the rear door reader, which has no slot, and give up. The front should stay a last resort, but until every door reader works first try, it's not really all-door boarding.

Honestly if you're going LGA with two bags just take the front door and eat the glare, faster than playing Reader Roulette. Nothing worse than your flight boarding and you're watching the rear door light turn red while the driver yells 'use the other door!'

That's the real commuting calculus: risk missing the bus or risk the ticket. I'd rather wait for the next bus and be clean than wonder for 40 minutes if an inspector will show up. But at some point the MTA has to fix the rear-door readers or go back to front-door only on the M60, especially with all the tourists trying to get out of the city.