{"id":520065,"date":"2026-08-07T07:45:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/new-york-puts-the-last-metrocard-machines-up-for-sale-following-the-rollout-of-the-omny-system\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T07:45:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:45:03","slug":"new-york-puts-the-last-metrocard-machines-up-for-sale-following-the-rollout-of-the-omny-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/international\/new-york\/new-york-puts-the-last-metrocard-machines-up-for-sale-following-the-rollout-of-the-omny-system\/","title":{"rendered":"New York puts the last MetroCard machines up for sale following the rollout of the OMNY system"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>New York.-<\/strong> The iconic MetroCard vending machines that for more than two decades were part of the New York City subway landscape are beginning a new chapter outside of the stations, after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) decided to auction off dozens of these retired units as part of the transition to the <strong>OMNY<\/strong> contactless payment system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The initiative offers collectors and public transport enthusiasts the possibility of acquiring one of the devices that, since the late 1990s, were used daily by millions of passengers to purchase and recharge their transport cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The auction began on <strong>August 5<\/strong> and will remain open until <strong>8:00 PM on August 19, 2026<\/strong>. Interested parties must submit their proposals following the conditions established by the MTA, which warned that there is a limited number of units available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The minimum price set is <strong>1,500 dollars per machine<\/strong>, although the final amount will depend on the offers received. U.S. media reported that the transit authority has around <strong>60 units<\/strong> belonging to the MetroCard Vending Machine (MVM) and MetroCard Express Machine (MEM) models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Acquiring one of these items, however, involves more than just submitting the best offer. Those selected must pay the full price and be responsible for picking up and transporting the equipment themselves within the timeframe established by the MTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The machines are stored in facilities in <strong>Brooklyn and Queens<\/strong>, and buyers will have a maximum of <strong>10 days<\/strong> to pick them up. The authority will not provide workers, forklifts, or other equipment to facilitate their transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Weight constitutes one of the main obstacles for those who intend to take one of these souvenirs home. Traditional machines reach approximately <strong>1,050 pounds, equivalent to about 476 kilograms<\/strong>, while the Express versions weigh around 210 pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buyers will also not receive equipment capable of processing payments or issuing cards. The MTA previously removed their electronic components and financial systems, so the units are being sold solely as historical objects and will be delivered in their current condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Introduced in <strong>1999<\/strong>, the machines became one of the most recognizable elements of the New York transportation system. Their retirement is related to the replacement of the MetroCard with OMNY, a technology that allows paying the fare by tapping a bank card, smartphone, or other compatible device to the reader installed on buses and in stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sale thus represents more than just an auction of decommissioned equipment: it marks the end of a chapter in the recent history of New York transportation, at a time when the MTA is deepening the modernization of its payment methods and turning the old machines into collector&#8217;s items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The initiative has also sparked divided reactions. While some users consider the machines an attractive piece of New York&#8217;s urban history, others have questioned that non-functioning equipment is being offered starting at $1,500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York.- The iconic MetroCard vending machines that for more than two decades were part of the New York City subway landscape are beginning a new chapter outside of the stations, after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) decided to auction off dozens of these retired units as part of the transition to the OMNY contactless [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133553,"featured_media":520066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[44549],"tags":[44182,13603,41573],"class_list":["post-520065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-cover","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city-subway"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-2bi9","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/metrocard-ny.jpg","dum_api":{"author_name":"F\u00e9lix Abad","author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39a5ff177de98dc8653e5d28809b69198fa14b4bbfcdb4c999b34fe6646cd495?s=96&d=mm&r=g","categories_name":["New York"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/metrocard-ny.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133553"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}