In 2025, swiping a plastic rectangle through a card reader feels like an anachronism, but the MetroCard shouldn’t be taken for granted. Every little yellow plastic rectangle represents a genuine ...

For artist Thomas McKean, the New York City MetroCard was anything but mundane. He used cut-up bits of the cards to create hundreds of sculptures and collages, and still has a stockpile to work with.

NEW YORK (AP) — When the MetroCard replaced the New York City subway token in 1994, the swipeable plastic card infused much-needed modernity into one of the world’s oldest and largest transit systems.