New York subway and bus riders may be swiping their MetroCards beyond 2020.
The MTA had previously said that the current system could not be maintained in good repair beyond 2019 without more spending.
According to The New York Times, the agency now says it can maintain the system until 2020 based on its current budget.
The paper says transit officials on Monday said they would decide on a new payment system design this year and begin phasing it in by early 2017 while overlapping with the MetroCard for three years.
But an independent consultant contracted by the authority told board members the agency should budget for more time. He says MTA's peers in North America have taken 5 to 10 years to implement a new system.
The MetroCard replaced subway tokens in 1994.
