The MTA on Tuesday began installing vending machines filled with personal protective equipment in subway stations, where strangers can buy face masks and hand sanitizer, the agency announced.
The dozen PPE machines also offer sanitizing gloves and wipes and have been deployed at 10 stops, primarily in Manhattan, according to the MTA.
“The national increase in Covid-19 cases shows how important it is for us to remain vigilant about the use of masks and other personal protective equipment,” Acting Transit President Sarah Feinberg said in a statement.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for customers without masks to use the subway. Wearing a mask is the most important thing our customers can do to protect themselves and those around them, and more than that, it is absolutely necessary to drive the system. “
Two vending machines have been placed at 34th Street-Herald Square and 42nd Street-Times Square.
They are also found at 34th Street-Penn Station, both in Sections 1, 2, and 3 as well as Sections A, C, and E, as well as 14th Street-Union Square, 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal, and 59th Street -Columbus The circle stops.
Outside of Manhattan, machines have been installed on Lexington Avenue and 74th Street-Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, and at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station in Brooklyn.
Several different companies have been used to supply the machines as part of a pilot program.
One set of machines offers 10 packages of disposable masks for $ 12.49, or $ 1.25 per mask, an MTA representative said.
The other machines sell $ 5.99 reusable cloth masks, $ 9.99 KN95 masks, $ 2.25 wipes, $ .75 cents single-use hand sanitizer packs, $ 4.99 two-ounce sanitizer bottles and kits. $ 6.49 which includes a mask, wipes, and a pair of gloves.
The MTA will continue to provide platform hand sanitizer and free disposable masks in station booths, a spokesperson confirmed.
Facial masks are mandatory on MTA subways, buses, and trains in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Passenger numbers have plummeted during the outbreak, but it has slowly recovered as the city reopens.
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