Why Is My MetroCard Red?

Brands ride the rails to reach more than 8 million NYC straphangers

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If you're a New Yorker and you bought a MetroCard sometime in the last week or so at a "high-traffic" station (Herald Square, Penn Station, Coney Island, Times Square, etc.), you may have noticed something was very different. Rather than the sunny yellow New York commuters have come to know, the card the machine spat out this time was crimson.

While it can be difficult to catch a consumer's eye with a particular ad, it's likely that if you received one of these cards touting Resorts World Casino in Queens, you took note because for New Yorkers—especially those too young to remember the era of tokens—a MetroCard is an iconic NYC accessory.

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