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Metro

MTA’s back-door bus boarding plan still stalled, irritating transit advocates

By
David Meyer
Published Feb. 8, 2022
Updated Feb. 8, 2022, 2:45 p.m. ET
The MTA initiative to allow passengers to enter buses through all doors is allegedly stalled as they try to figure out which routes to test the new initiative on.
The MTA initiative to allow passengers to enter buses through all doors is allegedly stalled as it tries to figure out which routes to test the new initiative on. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

A plan to allow back-door entry on some city buses using the MTA’s OMNY “tap-and-go” fare payment system has failed to materialize nearly six months after being announced, transit officials conceded Monday.

MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said the agency is still “working on determining routes that could be a part of the pilot” originally announced last August.

The MTA in August said its “all-door boarding” test run would consist of 10 local routes, even though back-door fare readers have been installed on every bus for over a year.

All-door bus boarding has been shown to improve bus speeds where it exists, including on New York City’s “Select Bus Service” express routes. Transit officials first committed to extend the practice to local buses in 2018 as part of the multi-year OMNY.

Advocates who have pushed for back-door bus entry are growing impatient.

“Something’s not right. They should have chosen the routes months ago,” said Ben Fried of the Manhattan-based think tank TransitCenter. “Whatever is jamming this up, MTA leadership needs to unjam it because we’re talking about a change that could improve service for riders across the whole city.”

According to the MTA, there is a plan to allow passengers to board certain MTA buses in the city from all doors using the new tap-and-go payment option.
According to the MTA, there is a plan to allow passengers to board certain MTA buses in the city from all doors using the new tap-and-go payment option. Christopher Sadowski

The MTA’s contract for the OMNY tap-and-go fare system is millions of dollars over budget and 15 months behind schedule, officials said last month.

Every bus in the city currently accepts payment via the front door using OMNY, in which riders can use contactless credit cards, mobile wallet apps or a physical OMNY card that went on sale in October.