The trusty-old MetroCard isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Plans for replacing the ubiquitous yellow and blue cards with more modern technology — like tap-and-go bank cards — have been pushed back until at least 2016, officials said today.
The MTA had initially hoped to develop new payment technology in subways by 2015.
The agency is in a hurry to replace the MetroCard technology because its equipment — which was developed in the 1990’s — was only designed to last until 2019.
It also wants to find a payment technology that’s cheaper to operate because the over 2,000 MetroCard vending machines can be costly to maintain.
Part of the reason the agency has had delays in developing new software has been the quickly changing market place.
When it began mulling changes to payment options several years ago, the MTA believed that contact-less credit cards — that didn’t require a swipe — would become common among New Yorkers.
Although some banks do offer those cards, not enough people use the cards for it to be practical for the MTA to roll out system-wide.
jennifer.fermino@nypost.com