Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. And we're going to take our last 10 minutes today to ask how nostalgic or not are you for the MetroCard? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. How nostalgic are you or not for the MetroCard? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. As you certainly know by now, as of January 1st, it is a relic of the past in terms of any new MetroCards being produced or sold. When I'm talking about relics of the past from 2025, no, not your overdrinking or other bad habits. It is the MetroCard, now becoming a relic of the past. Do you still have old MetroCards floating around your house, or have they all steadily gone the way of the dodo anyway, as you have transitioned to the OMNY system? Maybe you wish you still had some to keep as memorabilia.
There was one that I once had that was a Subway Series MetroCard. It had a Yankees logo on one side, a Mets logo on the other side. Oh, I wish I saved that MetroCard. It might even be worth something because I saw one article about some MetroCards now selling for as much as a few thousand dollars as collector's items. What about you? Are you nostalgic for anything in particular about the MetroCard or not? Maybe you're just happy to see it go.
212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692 I was around in the '90s when they rolled out the MetroCard, and there were people then who were up in arms because, no, they were tiring the token. Other people were like, "I'm so happy to have just this little piece of plastic instead of having to carry around a bunch of coins in my pocket." Now, of course, there are also environmental issues with the MetroCard, other things. How nostalgic or not are you about the MetroCard here as it gets formally retired? 212-433-WNYC. You can call, or you can text. Who has a good MetroCard story? 212-433-9692, we'll take your calls and texts right after this.
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Brian Lehrer: Coming up at noon on All Of It, hear about a new book that explores how humor and laughter can guide the way toward better mental health. Plus, singer-songwriter Annie DiRusso performs live music from her debut album, Super Pedestrian. All Of It is coming up at noon on WNYC.
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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now to your calls on how nostalgic or not you are for the MetroCard. Lily in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hey, Lily.
Lily: Hi.
Brian Lehrer: So nostalgic?
Lily: Yes, I am nostalgic. I think OMNY is ass.
Brian Lehrer: Why?
Lily: I think it's just a lot of money being spent on a system that didn't really need to change. The MetroCard is iconic. I had the orange MetroCard, and then I had the green MetroCard throughout my childhood. I don't think that they need to replace it. They always overcharges me.
Brian Lehrer: [00:05:03] Speaker A: The green ones are the student MetroCards, right? The green ones.
Lily: Yes, they are.
Brian Lehrer: Oh, OMNY is overcharging you?
Lily: Yes. It'll charge me, and then I'll get a notification at 4:00 AM, and it'll be the tap to pay or whatever. I don't trust it.
Brian Lehrer: You're not the first person I've heard that story from, either. Lily, thank you for chiming in. Please call us again. David in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, David.
David: Hi, Brian. I go back to the days of the $0.25 token. Now when I got my senior MetroCard, I found it very useful because I didn't link it with a bank card or anything. I would just pay for it by week. If I lost it, I would go down to Stone Street, an MTA place down there. They were very helpful. Now nobody knows from anything about this MetroCard.
Brian Lehrer: OMNY Card
David: OMNY card. I don't know how much is on there. I don't know if I actually got the bus transfer. I don't know if that $17 a week goes unlimited after 12 rides. I can't tell. No, I guess it's too early to be nostalgic, but I prefer the--
Brian Lehrer: You prefer it as a service. That's interesting. Our first two callers from very different generations, both having trouble with the OMNY card, as you know, in a functional way, compared to the MetroCard. Here is a text that says, "The MetroCard was one of the better plastic bits that I've ever had. They are flexible and very durable and thin, and can be used as a squeegee or to get into tiny cracks around the house. The house cleaning MetroCard very good for art, crafts, and cleaning as well as getting on the train and the bus." How about Caitlin in Ridgewood? You're on WNYC. Hi, Caitlin.
Caitlin: Hey, how's it going? I was saying to the screener, when we switched from tokens to MetroCards, I actually went to a David Letterman taping where Giuliani came out with a barrel full of tokens. It was just very memorable to me, and I moved to the city from Long Island a year later. The MetroCard is really my span of living in the city. I completely agree with both the other callers. The OMNY card is a money grab. It is not meant to be making anything easier for us. I refilled my MetroCard on December 31st, and I'm still swiping wherever I can.
Brian Lehrer: For one more go until they don't let you do that anymore. Listener writes, "I have no love for the old MetroCard. I don't miss having multiple cards and then having the value expiring. I don't miss being told to go to some specific booth to get the value changed to another card, and then finding out that there's no one at the booth or the person at the booth being rude about it. Also, the cards are just plain ugly, and I dislike disposable plastic. Nope, I don't miss any of it." A range of views about being instantly nostalgic for the MetroCard, for sure. Justin in Chelsea on WNYC. Hi, Justin.
Justin: Hello. Thanks for taking my call. This is the first time I've actually called in. Happy to be on the air.
Brian Lehrer: Happy to have you.
Justin: Thank you very much. Been a long time listener, pretty much since I was a child, but to the point I was frankly, born a little too late for tokens, '99. Then the MetroCard gets introduced. I've grown up on MetroCards, even going to Stuyvesant back downtown, got one of those little green ones, and I have a bit of nostalgia for them. Of course, the swiping could be a bit of a pain, doesn't always read all the time. If you don't know you're out of money, you'll have to be swiping and swiping and swiping, and then it'll stop.
I still keep one MetroCard in my wallet, a little Star Trek: Picard promotional one from 2021. I call it my Star Trek P card. You get it? Sorry.
Brian Lehrer: No, no, I'm going to leave it there because we're out of time. I hear you. I lost my baseball one, but you have your Star Trek Picard, and thank you, Justin. Call us again. Last text listener writes, "Made my final MetroCard into a Christmas ornament. I won't miss swiping it, but what I'll miss is my monthly unlimited rate. Bring back the unlimited fares."
That's the Brian Lehrer Show for today, produced by Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum. Zach Gottehrer-Cohen produces our daily politics podcast. We had help the last few weeks, and I think we say goodbye to at the end of this week, Sasha Linden Cohen, among other things, wrote up this MetroCard segment. Thanks so much, Sasha. Megan Ryan is the head of Live Radio with Juliana Fonda at the audio controls. I'm Brian Lehrer. Stay tuned for All Of It.
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