The MTA is set to pay millions more to the company that developed the new OMNY fare payment system — which has been plagued by a spotty rollout and complaints over customer service.
The transit authority’s board on Wednesday approved a nearly $3 million modification to its existing contract with Cubic Transportation Systems for an artificial intelligence chatbot designed to more quickly answer common rider questions on the OMNY website.
Cubic initially offered the use of the “OMNY Digital Assistant” at no cost to the MTA as part of a seven-month trial run in 2022, with an agreement that the authority would pay the company for AI services after the end of the pilot program. The approval includes a nearly $13 million five-year option for chatbot services.
Frustrated commuters say OMNY’s chatbot has not been much help. May 28, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
“The goal of the chatbot is to reduce the number of calls to the OMNY call center about general information or OMNY account details by [redirecting] inquiries to the chatbot,” according to a summary of the contract in the documents for the May meeting.
The tap-and-go fare-payment system is now used by two-thirds of all subway and bus riders, according to the MTA, and is on track to fully replace the MetroCard by the end of 2025.
In 2017, the MTA awarded Cubic a $570 million base contract to develop a replacement for the plastic fare card that riders have used to board trains and buses for three decades.
MTA officials told THE CITY last week that software upgrades to OMNY are to blame for complaints from customers who have not been able to tap their way past the turnstiles or have had trip charges show up days late on bank statements.
“We’re now through that, Cubic has cleared the backlog,” Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction & Development, said during the Wednesday board meeting. “We would have liked them to be more effective at doing that, we are not happy with their performance on that.”
Customer Disservice
Riders have also complained about excessive wait times and dropped calls while trying to connect with the customer call center to address issues with the contactless fare-payment system.
Mark Winiarski, a 76-year-old retiree, said he called for help after being charged the full $2.90 fare on what was supposed to be a reduced ride for seniors. But he quickly gave up after being informed how many calls were ahead of his.
“They said there were 164 calls ahead of me, and I hung up, believing that my problem would never get fixed,” he told THE CITY Wednesday.
Francine Smilen, 76, said she was told on three separate phone calls that she had 25 to 40 callers ahead of her, adding that she never received calls in return, even after requesting them.
“I didn’t wait on the line because I imagined that it would have been hours each time,” she said. “The only time I was successful was on a Sunday morning, but that person gave me the wrong information.”
Smilen said an email to OMNY customer service yielded no reply — and that she also made two fruitless trips to customer service centers at 34th Street-Penn Station and one to MTA headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
An OMNY machine at City Hall-Brooklyn Bridge offers assistance. May 28, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
She added that she has doubts about the ability of the AI chatbot to help beyond basic questions.
“If the people in the customer service centers gave me the wrong information each time, and then told me to call OMNY and then hand them the phone so that they could ask them my questions, why would I trust a chatbot?” Smilen said.
Kara Gurl, advocacy manager for the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, cited THE CITY’s recent reporting while saying rider unhappiness must not be overlooked.
“Riders need to be able to trust OMNY before the MetroCard is fully phased out,” she said. “And these bumps in the road are unfortunately making the transition more painful than it should be.”
MTA officials told THE CITY that call center staffing is being increased as more riders shift to OMNY. A Cubic spokesperson said there are currently 55 agents at the goal center, with plans to boost that figure significantly.
“Our goal is to double the number of agents to address the higher volume,” the spokesperson said. “We will reevaluate on an ongoing basis and will add agents as needed.”
“We’ve expanded call center hours, we have maintained the option to receive a callback so you don’t actually have to wait on line,” said Jessie Lazarus, the transit agency’s deputy chief of commercial ventures.
She added that the AI feature is marked for upgrades that can answer more than general questions.
“We’re adding features to unlock some of those trip and charge questions customers may have,” Lazarus said.
But multiple reluctant OMNY converts told THE CITY that they are unhappy with the process to replace the MetroCard, which itself began taking over for the token in 1994.
“The system has some issues,” said Percy Suarez, a 45-year-old Jackson Heights resident who said he has had trouble switching his Fair Fares benefits for low-income riders to OMNY. “It makes me miss the MetroCard.”
Winiarski said he’s come to terms paying the full $2.90 fare because he’s grown frustrated with trying to get answers about OMNY.
“The burden is on us,” he said. “Then when we try to resolve the issue, we run into a morass of non-responsiveness.”
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