New York’s subway and buses run on one tap-to-pay system, OMNY, and one fare covers nearly all of it — day or night, all five boroughs. The catch for visitors isn’t the fare, it’s the size of the system: 472 subway stations and hundreds of bus routes, so knowing which train to catch matters more than knowing how to pay for it.
The basics
MTA New York City Transit runs the backbone: the subway (numbered and lettered lines, 24/7) and local buses, including Select Bus Service (SBS) routes where you pay before boarding at a curbside machine rather than on the bus. Around that:
- AirTrain JFK, run by the Port Authority, links JFK Airport to the subway and Long Island Rail Road — it’s a separate fare, not part of your subway tap.
- NYC Ferry runs commuter boats on the East River, to the Rockaways, and elsewhere — its own (higher) fare, not covered by OMNY.
- The Staten Island Ferry is a free, 24/7 city-run boat between Manhattan and Staten Island — no fare at all.
- The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial cable car between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island that takes the same fare as the subway.
- Citi Bike, the city’s bike-share network, is a useful add-on for short hops the subway doesn’t cover well.
Commuter rail — the LIRR and Metro-North — reaches into the suburbs on separate fares and isn’t covered in depth here.
How to pay
New York has switched almost entirely to OMNY, a contactless tap system:
- Tap a contactless bank card or your phone (Apple Pay / Google Pay) at the reader on the subway turnstile, or on the reader by the bus’s front door.
- Get an OMNY card at a station vending machine if you don’t want to use a bank card or phone — refillable with cash or card.
- MetroCard is being retired. As of January 1, 2026, MetroCards can no longer be bought or refilled — OMNY is now the primary way to pay. If you’re still holding an unused 7-Day or 30-Day unlimited MetroCard, use it by March 31, 2026 to get its full value; after that, remaining balances can only be transferred to an OMNY card.
Transfers between subway and local bus are free for two hours, as long as you tap the same card, phone, or OMNY card each time — the system recognizes it automatically, no separate transfer ticket needed.
Fares
| Fare | 7-day cap | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult (subway, local bus) | $3.00 | $35.00 |
| Reduced (65+, disability, Fair Fares NYC) | $1.50 | $17.50 |
| Express bus | $7.25 | $67.00 (combined with local/subway) |
The 7-day fare cap is the best part: tap the same OMNY card or device 12 times in a rolling 7-day period (it starts counting from your first tap of the week) and every ride after that is free until the week resets — no pass to buy in advance, it just happens automatically as you tap.
The Roosevelt Island Tramway takes the same $3.00 fare and counts toward the same cap. NYC Ferry ($4.50 one-way, $1.45 reduced) and the Staten Island Ferry (free) are separate systems with their own fares.
Getting from the airport
From JFK, take the AirTrain to Jamaica or Howard Beach station, then transfer:
- AirTrain + subway: the A train (from Howard Beach) or E train (from Jamaica) into Manhattan. Cost: $8.75 (AirTrain) + $3.00 (subway) = $11.75.
- AirTrain + LIRR: faster but pricier — from Jamaica, an LIRR train to Penn Station or Grand Central. Cost: $8.75 + $5.25–$7.25 depending on peak/off-peak, so $14–$16 total.
From LaGuardia, there’s no direct rail link. Two solid options:
- M60 Select Bus Service runs directly from every terminal to upper Manhattan (near Columbia University / 125th St, with subway connections) for the standard $3.00 fare.
- Subway or LIRR + the free LaGuardia Link Q70 bus: ride the subway to Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Av or 74 St–Broadway (or the LIRR to Woodside), then hop the Q70 — it’s free, so you only pay the $3.00 subway fare (or the LIRR fare).
Newark Airport (EWR) technically serves the New York area too, but it’s across the river in New Jersey and reached via NJ Transit or its own AirTrain Newark — a different state, a different system.
Apps to download
- MTA app — the official app: real-time subway and bus arrivals, service alerts, and your OMNY balance.
- OMNY (omny.info or the OMNY app) — manage your OMNY card and see how close you are to the weekly fare cap.
- Google Maps or Apple Maps — solid for planning, with live MTA data built in.
When it runs
The subway runs 24 hours a day, every day — one of the only systems in the world that never fully shuts down. That said, service patterns change through the day: rush hour, midday, evening, weekend, and late-night, when trains run less frequently and some lines run shortened or altered routes (check the MTA’s late-night service diagram before a middle-of-the-night trip). Buses run on their own, generally less frequent, schedules.
Accessibility
154 of the system’s 472 subway stations currently have elevators or ramps — call it roughly a third of the network. It’s a fast-moving number: the MTA’s $68 billion 2025–2029 Capital Plan has identified at least 66 more stations as eligible for accessibility upgrades. Accessible stations also have AutoGates — a wide gate for riders who can’t use a standard turnstile, including wheelchair and stroller users. For anyone who can’t use the subway or bus at all, Access-A-Ride provides door-to-door paratransit by advance reservation.
Etiquette & local quirks
- Let riders off before you board — obvious, but the single most-violated rule in the system.
- Move to the center of the car. Clustering by the doors is the #1 way to slow everyone down.
- Don’t hold the doors. It delays the whole line, not just your train.
- Stand back from the platform edge, especially as trains enter and leave.
- Letters and numbers, not colors, identify a train — several different lines share the same color because they run the same trunk line through Manhattan, so check the letter/number, not just the color.
Good to know
- Fare enforcement is increasing. The MTA has been deploying more fare inspectors with handheld ticketing devices systemwide — tap in every time.
- OMNY is now the default. If you’re used to MetroCard from a past visit, don’t bother looking for one — buy an OMNY card or just tap your bank card or phone.
- Keep bags and belongings visible and close, and report anything urgent to a station agent, a Help Point intercom, or 911.