Penn Station Uptown C waiting area, NYC |
On a related note, as I prepared to board the subway, I noticed that I had two old Metrocards in my wallet, and when I checked the balance on each, I discovered that both had just under fifty-cents remaining. (A one-way subway ride in New York City costs $2.25, and riders use a declining balance swipe card, a Metrocard, to pair the fare.) While I refilled one of the cards—and was thus able to utilize the balance on it—the other card seemed like a burden. I didn't want to carry it around in my wallet since I only ride the subway occasionally, yet I didn't want to throw it away. (And, unfortunately, the Metrocard vending machines don't allow riders to pull a partial balance from one card and apply it to another.)
This evening, I came across a fantastic idea (via The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal) for what someone like me could do with the remaining balance on a Metrocard. A group of student social entrepreneurs have developed MetroChange, a product that could allow subway riders to donate card balances to charity. Here's a video detailing their product:
As an aside, I wonder the extent to which the MTA benefits from subway riders tossing away cards with small balances—just as retailers benefit from unredeemed gift cards. Might widespread use of a device like MetroChange result in a fare hike?
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