The Metropolitan Transit Authority announced that the OMNY contactless fare rollout has expanded to 34th Street-Penn Station, the critical transit hub that connects New York City to several regional transit lines. 

The MTA, which launched the OMNY fare system at the end of May with service from Grand Central Station to the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station in Brooklyn, said contactless fare rollout will expand to 85 total stations within the city subway network by the end of the month. 

"Today is yet another momentous occasion for the continued rollout of OMNY, the MTA's game changing contactless fare payment system," Andy Byford, president of NYC Transit, said in the announcement from the agency. "Penn Station is one of the system's busiest subway stations and will allow hundreds of thousands of commuters the opportunity to tap and ride using a device or contactless card of their own choosing, including customers arriving on the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, who connect with the subway system here at Penn Station." 

The station at 34th Street-Penn Station, which is also the home to Madison Square Garden, is one of the busiest in the system, with more than 160,000 people swiping their Metrocards there daily. Officials said 96 contactless readers went live at 18 turnstile arrays at the ACE and 1,2 and 3 subway lines. The readers can accept a variety of contactless payment cards and mobile wallet apps for payment. 

Cover image: Chase.