A Trump administration official has threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City's mass transit system. Trains arrive and depart from a subway station in the Coney Island section of New York City, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Seth Wenig | AP Photo) Seth Wenig | AP Photo

The Trump administration is threatening to withhold or redirect federal funding to New York’s mass transit system if it doesn’t receive documentation of the steps taken to address crime and create a safe environment for riders and workers.

New York City subway riders will no longer need physical MetroCards by the end of this year, ending decades of use for the ubiquitous yellow and blue pass.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it will stop selling and refilling MetroCards by the end of 2025. The cards, first introduced in 1994, have became something of a collector’s item amid the rise in popularity of the tap-and-go payment system.

New York City's transit authority recently announced that they will soon be phasing out the MetroCard and replacing it with a "contactless" system.