Dozens of straphangers have been slugged with bogus charges by the MTA’s new fare readers — simply by walking past them.
The OMNY tap-and-go fare readers have been taking a $2.75 charge from people who have enabled a passcode-skipping Apply Pay service — which allows straphangers to enter the subway with a swipe of their iPhone at the turnstile — even while trying to use a regular MetroCard.
Megan Bagg, 29, of SoHo, told The Post she has been charged twice — despite having her phone in her bag.
“It was ridiculous. My phone was in my purse near my hip,” she said.
Bagg said she at first blamed the charge on her contactless credit card — and even called the bank to complains — until the second charge occurred when it wasn’t on her person.
“I’ve been keeping my purse far from the thing when I go through the turnstile,” she said.
Straphanger Macartney Morris, of Astoria, had a similar experience this Tuesday evening, when he noticed a $2.75 charge on his bank statement.
Morris said he swiped in with his monthly MetroCard at Grand Central Terminal, as he does every weekday, and that his phone was in his pocket.
“I’ve had Transit Express enabled for a year and a half since I went to Vancouver, Canada,” Morris said. “It’s never caused this problem until yesterday.”
MTA Chief Revenue Officer Al Putre confirmed that “about 30 customers” had complained about “unintended charges when the Express Transit feature of their iPhones is activated.”
“The system is a popular success that’s working well for the vast majority of people and we’re in touch with Apple about addressing the issue of unintended taps,” Putre said in a statement.
Transit officials have been rolling out OMNY tap-and-go readers across the subway system since May. The service has been used almost 5 million times, according to the MTA.
The readers are currently compatible with contactless credit cards and “mobile wallets” like Apple Pay. OMNY fare-cards will launch in 2021.
An Apple rep said the company has not had the issue in other cities where the Express Transit feature is available.
“When a customer enters the greater New York transit area, they receive a notification that a payment card in Apple Wallet can be used for Express Transit. NYC residents are also informed about Apple Pay Express Transit when they add a payment card to Apple Wallet for the first time,” the company said in a statement.
“Customers can easily turn off the feature in Settings on their iPhone at anytime and use Face ID or Touch ID to ride transit.”