PATH will stop accepting SmartLink cards on September 1, 2026. Monday, August 31, is the last day a leftover trip pack or unlimited pass on that turquoise card will open a gate.
If the card is still in your wallet, spend the balance now or call PATH about a transfer. From September 1, the Hudson tubes want TAPP, a contactless bank card, or a phone wallet, not SmartLink and not a MetroCard.
- Last use: August 31, 2026, for SmartLink and PATH MetroCards.
- Cutoff: Neither card works on PATH from September 1.
- Replacement: TAPP Card, contactless bank card, or digital wallet.
- Leftover value: Spend it, or call 1-800-234-PATH about a transfer.
- OMNY: Still not valid on PATH, even after the switch.
What PATH published
The official PATH SmartLink home page says the card will retire on September 1, 2026, after 19 years. Customers should use remaining SmartLink value by August 31.
The same dates sit on the SmartLink FAQ. Sales and refills already ended on May 31 for most riders. Reduced-fare customers and people who receive direct loads from a transit-benefit provider were the named exceptions.
The Port Authority PATH fares page repeats the September 1 cutoff for both SmartLink and MetroCard. After that date, pay with a TAPP Card or a contactless credit, debit, phone, or wearable wallet at the turnstile.
That fares page also tells riders who cannot finish a leftover balance by September 1 to call the TAPP Customer Call Center at 1-800-234-PATH (7284) for a transfer onto a new TAPP Card. PATH does not issue cash refunds.
Time Out New York, citing the Port Authority, reported the same August 31 last-use day on August 10. It added that 96 percent of PATH riders were already using TAPP by the end of July.
That independent recap is useful color. The binding traveler dates still come from PATH and the Port Authority, not from a city magazine.
How the last days at the gate actually work
PATH did not flip every aisle on the same morning. TAPP lives on the blue-wrapped turnstiles. SmartLink still needs a SmartLink target. The FAQ is blunt: TAPP turnstiles do not take SmartLink.
If you are burning a leftover 10-trip or a 30-day pass this month, look for the older SmartLink reader, not the blue TAPP sleeve. A card that worked for years can fail at the new aisle even though it still has value.
MetroCard follows the same calendar on PATH. Pay-per-ride MetroCards with stored dollar value still deduct the $3.25 PATH fare through August 31. EasyPayXpress and Unlimited MetroCards were already unusable on PATH. From September 1, no MetroCard variant remains a PATH ticket.
A visitor who taps an OMNY card will also stay outside. The fares table says PATH does not accept the Metropolitan Transportation Authority OMNY card. TAPP is PATH’s own system. It is not a second name for OMNY.
The leftover-balance path is the one place the two official pages do not sound identical. The SmartLink FAQ says products do not transfer to TAPP, then adds a special-circumstances line to call 1-800-234-PATH. The live fares page is broader: if you cannot use the full balance by September 1, call that same number for a transfer to a TAPP Card. Treat the fares page as the current instruction for stranded value, and keep the FAQ’s warning that a self-serve app dump is not available.
Customer service hours on the SmartLink site are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. Have the 20-digit serial number from the back of the card ready. Do not wait until Monday, August 31, when the card itself stops working at the end of that day.
What to ride with from September 1
TAPP, short for Total Access PATH Payment, is the replacement. You can tap a contactless credit or debit card, a phone or wearable wallet, or a plastic TAPP Card at the blue turnstiles.
A new TAPP Card costs $5. PATH is offering a $5 travel credit if you buy one and register the first card on a TAPP account. That credit is one card per account, and the promotion is time-limited, so check TAPPandRide.com before you assume it is still on.
Cards are sold at vending machines in every PATH station and online. Registration is optional for riding, but it is how you view trips, replace a lost card, and claim the $5 credit.
TAPP still sells the trip packs and unlimited passes that made SmartLink useful. The current fares table lists a 10-trip for $31, a 20-trip for $62, and a 40-trip for $124, or $3.10 a ride instead of the $3.25 single fare. Unlimited 1-day, 7-day, and 30-day TAPP passes are $12.50, $42.75, and $131.50.
Those unlimited passes can be used only once at the same station within 18 minutes, and only by the original purchaser. That rule is the same habit SmartLink already taught commuters. It is not a new fine print invented for September.
A SingleRide paper ticket remains $3.25 at the large vending machines, valid for two hours. A cash-only 2-trip ticket is still $6.50 at station dispensers. Children ages 5 and under ride free.
Reduced-fare riders pay $1.60. Seniors 65 and older and eligible riders with disabilities can already link that discount to a contactless card or wallet. A dedicated reduced-fare TAPP Card is promised later in 2026. Until it arrives, keep contact details current so PATH can mail the card.
Who this changes, and who can ignore it
Anyone still carrying SmartLink value, a PATH MetroCard, or a habit of using those media at Newark, Harrison, Journal Square, Grove Street, Exchange Place, Newport, Hoboken, Christopher Street, Ninth Street, 14th Street, 23rd Street, 33rd Street, or World Trade Center is inside the window.
If you already tap a bank card or phone at the blue gates, September 1 does not change your commute. Time Out’s 96 percent figure is the reason most platforms will look ordinary. The remaining work sits with the last SmartLink wallets and with visitors who still assume a MetroCard or OMNY card works under the Hudson.
Airport and hotel visitors who treat PATH as the cheap Newark or World Trade Center hop should buy TAPP or tap a contactless card before they queue. A leftover SmartLink found in a drawer on September 2 is not a ticket. It is a call to 1-800-234-PATH, or a souvenir.
Riders who get off at World Trade Center for a Lower Manhattan walk can still use Deep Arrival’s Federal Hall visitor guide. Change only the plastic. The memorial is a short walk from that PATH station. The page does not reload a dead SmartLink.
PATH also posted virtual public information sessions on August 12 and August 19. August 12 has already passed. August 19 remains a live chance to ask the operator about a stuck balance before the last-use Monday.
| If you | What to do |
|---|---|
| Still have SmartLink trips or a pass | Ride them down by August 31 at a SmartLink turnstile, not a blue TAPP aisle. |
| Cannot finish the leftover value | Call 1-800-234-PATH on a weekday and ask for a TAPP transfer. |
| Already tap a bank card or phone | Keep doing that at the blue gates. September 1 does not change your fare. |
| Planned to use MetroCard or OMNY | Buy TAPP or tap a contactless card. Neither MetroCard nor OMNY works after August 31. |
| Qualify for the $1.60 reduced fare | Link the discount to a contactless card now. The reduced-fare TAPP Card comes later. |
- Spend first: Use remaining SmartLink or PATH MetroCard value by August 31.
- Pick the right aisle: SmartLink needs a SmartLink target. Blue TAPP gates will refuse it.
- Call leftover value: If you cannot spend it, phone 1-800-234-PATH on a weekday.
- Set September 1: Ride with TAPP, a contactless bank card, or a digital wallet.
Eighteen days remain. The official pages agree on the last-use Monday. They do not promise a cash refund, and they do not let a leftover SmartLink open a TAPP gate.
When does the PATH SmartLink card stop working?
August 31, 2026, is the last day to use SmartLink products. PATH will not accept SmartLink from September 1, 2026.
Can I move leftover SmartLink value to a TAPP Card?
Not in the app. If you cannot spend the balance by September 1, the fares page says to call 1-800-234-PATH for a transfer.
Does PATH accept MetroCard or OMNY after August 31?
No. MetroCard ends on PATH the same day as SmartLink. OMNY is not accepted on PATH now and is not the TAPP replacement.
What should a first-time PATH rider use in September?
Tap a contactless credit or debit card, a phone wallet, or a $5 TAPP Card at the blue turnstiles. Register the first TAPP Card if you want the current $5 credit.
