By Matt Chaban 12/14/12 3:10pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

Take me to your subway. (MTA)

That MetroCard Is Going to Cost $2.50, But at Least It Comes With a Free Audiobook

It now looks almost certain that the Metrocard is going up to $2.50 next week, with monthlies costing $112, up from $104, at least that is what MTA chief Joe Lhota is recommending in a letter he sent to the board yesterday [PDF]. But at least we will be getting a little something for that extra coin—free audiobooks.

The MTA announced today that it is continuing its front-of-Metrocard ad campaign, which kicked off in October with Metrocards bearing Gap ads on them. Those doubled as 15 percent-off coupons heralding the arrival of the budget clothier’s new Herald Square flagship. Now, Audible will be taking up some prime MTA real estate with Metrocard ads, including a code for a free audiobook. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/07/12 10:53am

Planes Trains & Automobiles

Gap MetroCard

Mind The Gap: Clothing Retailer Buys First Front-of-Metrocard Ads (Plus It’s a Coupon!)

The MTA is not exactly known for its fashion sense. There are the workaday uniforms and the baggy tailored suits of the boardroom. The LIRR and MetroNorth conductors wear hats to make Anna Wintour swoon, but that’s about it.

But now the agency will be enjoying a little fashion cache (but really, only a little) plus some extra cash thanks to The Gap. The middlebrow San Francisco clothier is the first firm to purchase the MTA’s new ads on the front of Metrocards, the agency announced today. The cards are now on sale in vending machines throughout the subway system, and the ad cards are expected to account for about 10 percent of all Metrocards in the coming months. Read More