Since many commuters opt to buy new transit cards -- despite having a little bit of cash remaining on their current card -- three students at NYU's Interactive Communications Program have created a project called MetroChange to save and donate all of this unused value to charity.
The MetroChange project asks New York City commuters to donate what's left on their unwanted MetroCards. According to the NYU students behind the MetroChange project, thrown-out MetroCards can add up to $52 million annually in unused value! They have created this hi-tech kiosk, which tells you the value you have on your card and gives you the option to donate the balance as well as recycle the card.
The MetroChange project is still in its beginning stages, however. And as the students' blog points out, simply donating what's left on a card doesn't make the value "real" money. One of the options they are exploring is finding partners to match the amount donated.
Transit Value Donations
MetroChange Asks Commuters to Give Their Unused MetroCard Balances
Trend Themes
1. Mobile Donations - Opportunity to create mobile donation platforms that allow commuters to easily donate unused balances on transit cards.
2. Tech-enabled Charitable Giving - Opportunity to develop more high-tech kiosks and platforms that facilitate charitable donations.
3. Partnership Matching - Opportunity to collaborate with partners who can match the amount donated by commuters on their transit cards.
Industry Implications
1. Transportation - Trend presents an opportunity for transportation companies to incorporate donation features into their transit card systems.
2. Technology - Trend creates a demand for developing innovative kiosks and mobile apps that enable easy balance donation.
3. Charity - Trend allows charities to tap into a new source of donations by partnering with transit card systems to receive unused balances.