New Yorkers have long prided themselves on knowing how to successfully swipe their MetroCards on the first pass while tourists fumbled their way through the turnstiles. In their heyday, the yellow cards littered the floors of subway stations and piled up in riders’ wallets.
Now, the MetroCard is finally going the way of the subway token.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the subway and bus systems, announced on Wednesday that it would stop selling the cards at stations on Dec. 31 and in the fall at retail locations such as drugstores and bodegas. The cards debuted in 1993.
Instead of swiping MetroCards at subway turnstiles or on buses, riders will exclusively use the authority’s new tap-and-go system, which was introduced in 2019 and allows customers to pay with digital wallets on their smartphones and watches; a contactless credit or debit card; or a physical tap-and-go OMNY card from the M.T.A.
The transition to the contactless system is expected to save the M.T.A. at least $20 million annually, said its chairman, Janno Lieber.
“It’s time to say goodbye to the MetroCard and go all-in on the fare payment system of the future,” Mr. Lieber said in a statement, adding that 65 percent of riders already use the tap-and-go system.
He said the change “also opens the door for new discounts and promotions that’ll put money back in riders’ pockets.”
OMNY cards, which are useful for people who do not have bank accounts, cost $1 and can be purchased and loaded with funds online, at thousands of retail locations, at subway stations and at the M.T.A.’s mobile sales vehicles. OMNY vending machines will be available at all 472 subway stations by the fall, officials said.
The frustrating days of swiping a MetroCard several times before it works, or of getting stuck during rush hour behind someone who hasn’t quite perfected the necessary wrist flick, will soon be over.
But so will that feeling of satisfaction that comes with a smooth swipe — one of the last truly tactile experiences in a digital world that has become increasingly frictionless.
In 1993, the shift from tokens to the MetroCard represented “the biggest change in the culture of the subways since World War II, when the system was unified,” said Jack Lusk, who was the senior vice president for customer service at the M.T.A. at the time.
On Wednesday, some subway riders seemed touched by the new shift away from MetroCards.
Tara Johnson said she framed her MetroCard when she moved to Los Angeles several years ago and kept it when she moved back to New York. She said she would continue holding on to it now that the card was being retired.
“When I first moved here when I was like 20, that was everything, that was my guide to the city,” Ms. Johnson, 43, said on an L train speeding toward Manhattan underneath the East River.
“It’s a piece of nostalgia for me,” she added.
Stacie Gorbacheva, 55, an emergency medical technician from Corona, Queens, wore her MetroCard on a necklace while riding the 7 train. She said she wore it not just for convenience, but as a proud emblem of New York City.
“It advertises for us,” Ms. Gorbacheva said.
She said she preferred the card to the tap system because it seemed more reliable. “I trust,” she said. “I always use.”
She added that she would continue wearing her MetroCard around her neck, even after the cards were gone.
Ariel Rush, 32, a restaurant manager from Brooklyn, said she kept a MetroCard on hand to loan to people visiting from out of town. She said she would keep it for the memories.
“It’s something tangible of what was before,” she said.
Even after they are no longer available for sale, the cards will continue to be accepted throughout the transit system, according to officials, who said a stoppage date would be announced later. The M.T.A. said that riders should plan to spend down their MetroCard balances, but that any remaining value would be eligible for transfer or reimbursement two years from their card’s expiration date.
Public school students already saw their MetroCards replaced with the contactless OMNY cards in September.
Nate Schweber contributed reporting.