Can You Transfer for Free Between PATH and the New York City Subway?

If you are changing between PATH and the New York City subway, the short answer is no: there is no free transfer between the two systems under current rules.

That is true even where the stations are physically close or connected, including at World Trade Center. PATH is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, while the subway is operated by the MTA, and they remain separate fare systems. The MTA states that PATH riders can connect to the subway at several Manhattan locations, but they must pay an additional fare. In the same document, the MTA specifically notes that although the Cortlandt Street 1 train station sits within the World Trade Center site, there is no fare-free connection there. MTA CBD Tolling Program Environmental Assessment and the PATH home page support that division of systems.

Bottom line

No free transfer exists between PATH and the NYC subway today.
Using the same bank card does not merge the fares. A tap on PATH through TAPP and a tap on the subway through OMNY are processed by different systems.
At the most common Manhattan connection points, a rider transferring between PATH and the subway should generally expect to pay one PATH fare plus one subway fare.

As of August 15, 2026, PATH says SmartLink cards and MetroCards will stop being accepted on PATH starting September 1, 2026; TAPP is the replacement for PATH contactless payment. The MTA, meanwhile, uses OMNY on subways and local buses and has been phasing out MetroCard sales and refills. See the current PATH site, the MTA’s OMNY fare-capping guide, and MTA rider materials noting that MetroCard sales and refills end on December 31, 2025.

Why there is no free transfer

The key point is structural: PATH and the subway are not one integrated fare network.

The MTA’s transportation planning document says PATH passengers can connect to the subway at multiple stations in Manhattan, but they must pay an additional fare. It also distinguishes free in-system subway transfers from PATH-to-subway connections, which are outside that fare structure. The same source explicitly says there is no fare-free connection between the Cortlandt Street 1 station and the World Trade Center–Fulton Street subway complex. See the MTA document.

That matches the MTA’s own fare rules for MetroCard and OMNY transfers. The MTA’s published fare information says free transfers apply within the MTA system, such as subway-to-local bus, local bus-to-subway, and certain specified subway connections, not PATH. See the MTA fare information at mta.info and the OMNY guide at mta.info.

On the PATH side, the Port Authority describes PATH fares and payment separately through its own system, now centered on TAPP. The current PATH site says TAPP lets riders pay directly at PATH turnstiles with a contactless credit card, debit card, or smart device, and it separately announces the end of SmartLink and MetroCard acceptance on PATH effective September 1, 2026. See the official PATH homepage.

What happens if you use the same bank card on both systems?

You can use the same contactless bank card or phone wallet for both systems, but that does not create a free transfer.

Here is why:

On PATH, a tap is processed by TAPP, PATH’s own contactless fare system, according to the official PATH site.
On the subway, a tap is processed by OMNY, the MTA’s fare system, according to the MTA’s OMNY guide.

Because they are separate fare programs run by different agencies, a PATH tap and a subway tap are generally treated as two charges, even if they come from the same underlying Visa, Mastercard, phone wallet, or wearable.

A useful comparison comes from the MTA’s OMNY rules themselves: even within OMNY, the MTA says you must use the same device or card consistently for fare capping, and that a phone and wearable linked to the same bank card do not combine totals. That shows how strict fare systems are about payment identifiers even inside one agency’s program. See the OMNY guide at mta.info. If OMNY does not combine separate OMNY payment tokens automatically, it certainly does not combine OMNY rides with separate PATH/TAPP rides.

Common PATH–subway connection points and what you pay

For a simple transfer between PATH and the subway, plan on paying:

1 PATH fare
1 NYC subway fare

That remains the basic rule whether you are entering the subway immediately after leaving PATH or vice versa.

World Trade Center

This is the place where riders most often assume a free transfer might exist because of the connected complex and shared pedestrian spaces.

It does not.

The MTA specifically says there is no fare-free connection between the Cortlandt Street 1 station and the World Trade Center–Fulton Street subway complex, and more broadly says PATH riders connecting to the subway must pay an additional fare. See the MTA transportation assessment. The Port Authority’s World Trade Center access page also describes reaching subway lines via the Oculus and Fulton Transit Center, but it does not describe any integrated fare transfer with PATH. See the World Trade Center getting-here page.