MTA’s $645M OMNY fare system hit with software bugs, missed deadlines, and high turnover

[Kamaji]

MTA’s $645M OMNY fare system hit with software bugs, missed deadlines, and high turnover: docs

By Nolan Hicks
May 29, 2023

A toxic stew of programming snafus, pivoting priorities and management turnover has derailed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $645M OMNY fare system, which is now years late and will cost another $130 million over budget, sources say and documents show.

As a result, the program’s promise of a single fare card linking the entire region together — allowing someone to buy a single ticket to go from Hoboken to Huntington, for example — has withered away amid the spiraling costs and delays.

 “The first time you use it, it’s a miracle,” said one frustrated source. “To watch it fall behind schedule, it’s depressing.”

OMNY was originally supposed to cost $645 million but now has a $772 million price tag, which could grow more, officials acknowledged in April. Rollout on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North was supposed to begin in 2021 — but now could be delayed until 2025 or later.

Another source was similarly despondent: “Of all the technology projects, it was one of the best,” describing the downsized ambitions as a “civic tragedy.”

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/05/29/mtas-omny-645m-system-hit-with-software-bugs-costly-delays/

[Kamaji]

The only surprise here is that it isn't even more overbudget and over time.

[PeteS in CA]

Did they hire the people who created the OhBummer!Don'tCare website?

[Kamaji]

Did they hire the people who created the OhBummer!Don'tCare website?

They probably hired the rejects from that effort.