The MTA announced they will be deploying "a dozen vending machines at 10 subway stations allowing customers to buy Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE)." The machines, part of a pilot program, will offer face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes. But for certain items, there is a steeper price to pay for this level of convenience.
Their ten blue surgical masks offering will cost you $12.49, or $1.25 per mask. For comparison, on Amazon, you can get 50 for $28, or .56-cents a piece. Other vending machine items include one disinfectant wipe, which will cost .75-cents, and one KN95 mask, which costs $10. Reusable cloth masks will be priced at $5.99, wipes $2.25, and a 2-oz bottle of hand sanitizer $4.99. Additionally, there are kits that include a mask, sanitizing wipes, and a pair of gloves are priced at $6.49.
Eight of the machines will be stocked by Canteen, while four others will be stocked by Swyft; the latter told Gothamist that further details would need to "come through their [the MTA's] formal channels." A rep for the MTA says the machine owners are renting space from the MTA in the form of a percentage of gross sales.
This pilot program will determine if there is a demand for PPE in stations, and will be evaluated throughout the summer.
3-ply surgical masks are 10 for $12.49
Sarah Feinberg, Interim President of the MTA, said in a statement: “We want to make it as easy as possible for customers who may not have masks to get them so they can ride the subway. Wearing a mask is the single most important thing our customers can do to protect themselves and those around them – and more than that, it’s absolutely required to ride the system.” Given the old ventilation system and enclosed space, the subway is one of the most important places for wearing a mask.
In addition to the machines, the MTA is "distributing hand sanitizer at every station as well as 2 million single-use surgical masks to customers at station booths thanks to donations from the State of New York and City of New York."
Here is where you'll find the new machines:
Vending machines started being removed from subway stations in the 1970s, but made a small comeback last year when the MTA brought in CVS vending machines
Correction: This article originally listed the masks as 3 for $12.49, it has been corrected to 10 for $12.49.
