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First, New Yorkers saw the elimination of subway token, which lasted for half a century. Now, its successor – the swipeable MetroCard, which lasted barely more than three decades – has seen its demise.
At midnight on 1 January, the flexible credit card-sized pass used by millions of New Yorkers to get through subway turnstiles is being terminated from sale just as a new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, takes office.
The transit system will fully transition to Omny, a contactless payment system that allows riders to tap their credit card, phone or other smart device to pay fares, much as they do for other purchases.
But the end of the MetroCard has brought mixed feelings. The unlimited ride, 30-day option made travelers feel like kings or queens of the city, swiping around at will, seemingly free to travel the length and breadth of the metro system, surfacing on a whim.
There were drawbacks – the MetroCard’s notoriously sensitive magnetic strip could fail to read, abruptly halting the progress of the rider into the turnstile gate, forcing them to reverse to try again.
Too many cards, too, could cause problems and delays, as straphangers swiped each one vainly for a valid fare until one worked, or it was back to vending machine for a refill or a brand-new card.
At its inception in 1994, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) launched public campaigns to teach commuters how to swipe the originally blue-colored cards correctly after the previous brass token was phased out.
Jodi Shapiro, curator at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn, which opened an exhibit earlier this month reflecting on the MetroCard’s legacy, told the Associated Press that the MetroCard was revolutionary in its day.
“There was a resistance to change from tokens to something else because tokens work,” Shapiro said. “MetroCards introduced a whole other level of thinking for New Yorkers”.
The MetroCard also became a vehicle for promotions, with the city issuing commemorative editions, including one to mark baseball’s home team World Series between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees in the 2000.
David Bowie, Olivia Rodrigo, the Wu-Tang Clan, the Notorious BIG and LL Cool J also graced the card over the years, as did New York TV shows such as Seinfeld and Law & Order.
The MetroCard required a certain technique to use, demanding a special angle of attack and velocity through the turnstile sensor to be read correctly – a learned technique that separated New Yorkers from interlopers.
During her failed 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton, a former US senator from New York, took an excruciating five swipes at a Bronx turnstile before finding success. Her progressive Democratic opponent at the time, US senator Bernie Sanders, a native Brooklynite, didn’t even appear to realize brass tokens had been swapped out for the MetroCard when he tried.
The unlimited card was also a way to extend charity to fellow New Yorkers without a fare since travelers exiting the subways system could swipe another in at no cost.
The New York Times reported that a symbolic funeral for the disappearing MetroCard was held in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park on Tuesday. A few dozen attended, it said, some chanting “swipe, swipe” to commemorate its passing into technological history, according to CBS News film from the ceremony.
“The MetroCard was there when we was broke, when we were late, when we squeezed into the train with one swipe left and that hope, that hope in our hearts,” Dupree God, who helped organize the MetroCard send-off, told Spectrum 1 News.
Kaicey Rahn said that the MetroCard, which will still be accepted – but not sold – until sometime in 2026, would be remembered as a kind of companion during late-night excursions around the city.
“Who do we call?” Rahn said. “We call the MetroCard. And now we’ll be reminded of his absence every time we go on the train.”
