2026 brought the biggest change to paying for the New York City Subway in a generation. The base fare went up, the MetroCard disappeared, and the old unlimited passes were replaced by an automatic fare cap. If you last rode the subway a couple of years ago, here is what is different and how to make sure you pay as little as possible.
What changed in 2026
| Before | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Subway and local bus fare | $2.90 | $3.00 |
| MetroCard | Sold and accepted | Retired: cannot be bought or refilled |
| Unlimited rides | 7-day and 30-day MetroCards | OMNY cap: $35 in any seven days |
| How the cap counts | Monday to Sunday | Any seven days from your first tap |
| Express bus | $7.00 | $7.25 |
| AirTrain JFK | $8.50 | $8.75 |
How to pay now: OMNY
Every subway turnstile has an OMNY reader. You can tap:
- a contactless credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover)
- a phone or watch with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay
- a reusable OMNY card, sold at station machines and many stores
Hold it over the reader, wait for GO, and walk through. You do not tap when you leave, because the fare is the same for every ride.
How the $35 seven-day cap works
This is the part that saves regular riders money. Once you have paid $35 within seven days of your first tap, every subway and local bus ride for the rest of that seven-day period is free. At $3.00 a ride, the cap is reached on your twelfth ride.
| Rides in seven days | Without a cap | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | $18.00 | $18.00 |
| 12 | $36.00 | $35.00 |
| 20 | $60.00 | $35.00 |
| 30 | $90.00 | $35.00 |
The cap only works if you use the same card or device every time. If you tap your phone one day and the physical card in your wallet the next, OMNY treats them as two different riders and you will take longer to reach the cap.
What it means for visitors
- A weekend trip: you will probably take six to ten rides and simply pay $3.00 each time.
- A week in the city: if you ride three or four times a day, you will hit the cap by day three or four, and the rest of the week is free.
- Travelling as a group: each person should ideally use their own card or phone. Only one rider's trips count towards the cap on each card.
- Foreign cards: check whether your bank charges a fee on each contactless payment in US dollars. If it does, a reusable OMNY card loaded once may be cheaper.
Getting to and from JFK
The cheapest way between JFK and Manhattan is still the AirTrain plus the subway, now $11.75 in total: $8.75 for the AirTrain (paid at Jamaica or Howard Beach) and $3.00 for the subway. Take the E train from Jamaica for Midtown, or the A train from Howard Beach for Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. The subway part counts towards your OMNY cap; the AirTrain fare does not.
See our JFK Airport by subway guide for the full route.
Quick checklist
- Use one contactless card or phone for every ride.
- Tap once per person, and wait for GO.
- Transfer to a local bus within two hours for free.
- After your twelfth ride in seven days, keep tapping: the rides are free but you still need to tap.
- If you have an old MetroCard with money on it, check the MTA website for how to recover the balance.
For the full fare table, see NYC Subway fares and our OMNY guide.
Always verify schedules and fares with the official operator before travelling.