Phase

Dec. 28 (UPI) — More than 30 years after New York City switched from tokens to the magnetic swipe of a MetroCard to ride its subways and buses, the card’s era is about to end.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2026, transiting residents and tourists alike will be required to move into the 21st century by using a contactless form of paying fares by tapping a phone, credit card or other device as they enter stations and buses.

Although the contactless system was introduced in 2019, 94% of subway and bus trips in the city already use the OMNY system for their travel payments, ABC News reported.

“New Yorkers have embraced tap and ride and we’re proud to see that as more and more people return to the city, they are choosing mass transit,” Shanifah Rieara, chief customer officer for New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), said in a press release.

“As the end of MetroCard sales nears, we are focusing on reaching the remaining 6% to make the switch and unlock the benefits and convenience of tap and ride technology,” Rieara said.

According to the MTA, the last day to purchase or reload a MetroCard will be Dec. 31, while the last day to use one of the magnetic swipe cards will be some time in mid-2026.

The OMNY system offers three ways for riders to pay: with their phone using a digital wallet or contactless bank card, as well as a physical OMNY card that works with the digital system.

MTA said that by eliminating MetroCards and move to a single method of fare collection, the agency expects to save at least $20 million, as well as gain the ability to offer customer promotions and fare discounts more easily.

From 1953 until 1994, the New York City subway system’s main method for paying were dime-sized tokens with a hole in the middle shaped like a “Y,” which the MTA at the time said made it easier to increase fares without having to accept a variety of coinage, CNN reported.

In 1983, as other large cities had started using magnetic swipe technology for their public transportation systems’ payments, the MTA started moving toward the reloadable cards that have been an essential part of life for New Yorkers for more than three decades.

The PM says the part of the plan on south of the Litani River is ‘only days away from completion’.

Lebanon is close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah in the south of the Litani River before a year-end deadline as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, according to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Saturday’s statement comes as the country races to fulfil the key demand in the US-backed deal agreed in November last year and ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The agreement requires the disarmament of the Iran-aligned Lebanese armed group, starting in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel.

Lebanese authorities, led by President Joseph Aoun and Salam, tasked the US-backed Lebanese army on August 5 with devising a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms by the end of the year.

“Prime Minister Salam affirmed that the first phase of the weapons consolidation plan related to the area south of the Litani River is only days away from completion,” a statement from his office said.

“The state is ready to move on to the second phase – namely [confiscating weapons] north of the Litani River – based on the plan prepared by the Lebanese army pursuant to a mandate from the government,” Salam added.

Committee meeting

The statement came after Salam held talks with Simon Karam, Lebanon’s top civilian negotiator on a committee overseeing the Hezbollah-Israel truce.

In a meeting on Friday, the committee focused on how to return displaced people to their homes, addressing civilian issues to help prevent renewed war if the year-end deadline to disarm Hezbollah is not met.

The 15th meeting of the committee reflected a longstanding US push to broaden talks between the sides beyond monitoring the 2024 ceasefire.

At Friday’s meeting in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqoura, civilian participants discussed steps to support safe returns of residents uprooted by the 2023-24 war and advance economic reconstruction, the US Embassy in Beirut said.

Since the ceasefire, Israeli warplanes have repeatedly targeted parts of Lebanon, mostly southern Lebanon, but sometimes even the capital.

Israel says it is questioning the Lebanese army’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim armed group, has tried to resist the pressure – from its mainly Christian and Sunni Muslim opponents in Lebanon as well as from the US and Saudi Arabia – to disarm, saying it would be a mistake while Israel continues its air strikes on the country.

Israel has publicly urged Lebanese authorities to fulfil the conditions of the truce, saying it will act “as necessary” if Lebanon fails to take steps against Hezbollah.

US envoy Steve Witkoff to meet senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in Miami to discuss next phase of deal.