"This is a bit unusual. We don't typically do exhibits for something extant in this subway,"
"But the MetroCard represented a huge technological leap in our transit system, and we felt we should bring it to the fore and tell people about it."
"Location scouts can't resist the museum's historic trains and intact Court Street station, which remains connected to the city's subway system. The 1974 thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and its Denzel Washington-featured remake, were filmed there, as well as Carlito's Way (1993). As Al Pacino's Carlito Brigante frantically fled mafioso heavies through the subway's distinctive 1960s-era "Redbird" cars, the MTA launched a prototype of the bendable credit card-sized fare card that would replace almost a century of subway tokens. By January 1994, the first MetroCards, which were colored blue with yellow lettering, were introduced to the public."
The MetroCard has been retired from New York City subways and buses in favor of the OMNY tap-and-go payment system. The New York Transit Museum is presenting a special exhibition of the taxicab-colored MetroCard through spring, emphasizing MTA innovations and long collaborations with the arts. The museum's collection of historic rail cars, trolleys, buses, and the intact Court Street station draws transit enthusiasts and location scouts. Several films were shot at the site, and the MetroCard originated from a 1990s prototype that replaced nearly a century of subway tokens when introduced in January 1994.
Read at Hyperallergic
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