The key thing to note is a single person at Grand Central casually using their smart phone. It is a tech savvy male and note that there are no others trying to enter the station when he is. Now this is either 4AM on Christmas Day or a totally staged shot. I suspect by the attire it is the latter.
One must remember that trying to get thru one of these during rush hour would put any and all expensive smart phones at risk, for being snatched, dropped, crashed into or otherwise destroyed! That's what happens when the MTA is led by a subject and not a citizen.
The Times states:
Subway riders are a notoriously cynical group, but early reviews have been positive. “It
works perfectly,” Greg Dorsainville, 39, of White Plains, said as he
tapped his Android phone on the turnstile at Grand Central Station on a
recent morning. “It’s seamless.” The switch to OMNY is a major moment for the subway and a rare bright spot for a system that continues to frustrate riders.
The MetroCard system is obsolete and should have been retired years
ago. OMNY is a glimpse at the future and an example of one effort to
modernize the system.
Again I note, what if you do not have a smart phone, or do not have a wireless enabled credit card? There is then no way you can use the system! Yep, no cash anywhere.
Then there is the issue of cyber attacks on smart phones and the vulnerability created by these devices. But alas no one really cares until it becomes a disaster. I suspect we have no great time to wait on this issue.
Why not offer a card which does this, like an Easy Pass system? Buy say $40 worth of rides and then if lost or stolen your loss is limited. But no, the brains in the MTA are setting up a system for colossal fraud. Just watch!
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