New York City students are calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to overhaul its Student OMNY card program, arguing that the cards are too fragile, frequently malfunction and can be difficult to replace when damaged.
High school students gathered on the steps of New York City Hall on Wednesday to demand changes to the program and release a report documenting problems students say they regularly encounter while using the cards to travel to school and other activities.
The findings were based on a survey of nearly 700 students. According to the report, 88% said their Student OMNY cards had been damaged, while more than 85% reported experiencing problems when tapping their cards at subway turnstiles or on buses.
Students argue that the cards’ physical construction is a major problem. Unlike the more durable plastic cards commonly associated with payment systems, Student OMNY cards can become bent, torn or worn after repeated daily use.
The replacement process has emerged as another major complaint. More than half of surveyed students who needed a replacement said they waited longer than a week, while nearly a quarter reported that they never received a replacement card at all.
Students and advocates say the consequences extend beyond inconvenience. For many young New Yorkers, public transportation is essential not only for getting to school but also for reaching internships, jobs, sports programs and after-school activities across the city’s five boroughs.
The students are asking the MTA to introduce more durable plastic Student OMNY cards, create a digital version that can be stored and used on smartphones, and establish a faster and more reliable system for replacing lost or damaged cards. Their recommendations also include year-round transit access and expanding student fare benefits to services such as express buses and the Long Island Rail Road.
The MTA has already indicated that changes are coming. MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said the authority plans to provide protective plastic sleeves for the existing cards and introduce a durable plastic Student OMNY card in time for the 2027–2028 school year.
The agency is also piloting a program during the current school year that would allow students to tap into the transit system using their phones, similar to the contactless payment options already available to other riders.
The campaign highlights how an issue as simple as the durability of a transit card can affect students’ ability to move around New York. With hundreds of thousands of students relying on public transportation, advocates argue that dependable access to the subway and bus network should be treated as an essential part of access to education.
