New York Subway Ends Its MetroCard Era and Switches Fully to Tap-and-Go Fares

A subway rider swipes his MetroCard in a turnstile as he enters the 34th St. subway station, July 23, 2007, in New York. Mary Altaffer/AP Photo

NEW YORK—When the MetroCard replaced the New York City subway token in 1994, the swipeable plastic card infused much-needed modernity into one of the world’s oldest and largest transit systems.

Now, more than three decades later, the gold-hued fare card and its notoriously finicky magnetic strip are following the token into retirement.