MTA has big plans to modernize how to buy a train ride.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/nyregion/metrocard-subway-new-york.html
Took them long enough. The Chicago Transit Authority has been using the Ventra app for several years now. It had the usual quota of bugs at first, but it seems to be working pretty smoothly now.
Be very afraid, MTA riders.
The contractor, Cubic, is pretty inept and greedy. LA Metro didn’t review the design closely (or at all) and the first version was a total user interface piece-of-s***. It took Metro years to acquire the in-house expertise to take over control of the customer ‘website’ which is finally ‘just OK’. Last time I checked, online balance updating from a debit card still took overnight (WTH!).
Hopefully MTA will implement a decent RFID based card for those who refuse to buy an overpriced, NFC capable smartphone.