Subway Fresh: MTA Announces Fare Hike, Tosses Old Cars into the Sea

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced another rate hike for commuters yesterday, with the cost of a single subway or bus ride increasing from $2.50 to $2.75 come March 22nd. So too will the cost of a monthly card rise from $112 to $116.50, and Metro North and LIRR fares will be going up as well.

I know, right? So what is the MTA doing with all of that money?

Well, before you get too upset, you should know that they’re throwing old cars into the ocean, which makes up for it a little bit, right? Photographer Stephen Mallon‘s series “Next Stop Atlantic” captures the process, and it’s as cool as you might think. It makes throwing your little brother’s bike into the pool seem like child’s play (literally).

Over the course of three years, Mallon has headed out into the Atlantic Ocean to capture this amazing event (decommissioned New York subway cars have been sent to watery graves for the last decade or so). The images portray this large-scale littering in all of its intense beauty: While straphangers typically see the cars’ exteriors as two-dimensional, in profile, Mallon’s photos convey their size and weight as metal boxes that splash overboard and slowly descend to the deep.

Which is precisely why this is not actually littering or pollution. At first, it seems that throwing this much metal into the ocean would be environmentally disastrous, as is the case with plastic, which breaks down into small particles and eventually forms infamous gyres of microscopic detritus. However, the subway cars, like sunken ships, simply end up resting on the ocean floor, reborn as artificial reefs. Those retired R32s happen to make perfectly healthy habitats for marine life, including oysters, blue mussels, and other creatures. So think of it this way: That extra $0.25 per ride is ultimately going to a good cause.

Patterns of Interest will be on view at NYU’s Kimmel Galleries from February 6th until March 15th.