Every year, some USD 52 million is lost by users of New York City’s MetroCard payment system when they replace old cards that still have a small amount of value remaining. Aiming to put that leftover money to better use, MetroChange is a new system designed to capture that last bit of change on old cards and donate it to charity instead.
MetroChange has designed a kiosk to be placed at busy subway stations throughout the city — “especially those where tourists and occasional users of the subway transition out of the subway system, transferring to an airport or regional train service”. Commuters and travelers who have a small amount of unused value remaining on a card can swipe that card at one of those kiosks, where the value will be recorded and transmitted to a central fund. The customer’s physical MetroCard, meanwhile, is taken for recycling. Then, MetroChange’s central fund will be converted into real money each month and donated to charity.
