MTA Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer appeared live this morning on NY1 Mornings On 1 with Roger Clark to discuss a new promotion for mass transit riders.
A transcript appears below.
Mornings on 1 Anchor Pat Kiernan: The MTA is looking to help small businesses and boost transit ridership with something called the MTA DineAWAY Campaign. Getting you to get you to jump on a train or a bus and try a different neighborhood’s restaurants. Roger is back with us from Harlem with more on this. Hi again, Roger.
Mornings on 1 Reporter Roger Clark: Hey Pat. Good Morning. Actually, I got Sarah Meyer here from the MTA. We're talking about a children's book, Take the Subway we all read to our kids. Brings back memories. But yeah, this is where, right here at 116th Street in Harlem, and we are by the and the train and you could take this train anywhere you want and go eat or shop. And that's what it's all about! It’s called MTA DineAWAY! And now – let’s bring you in. I’m getting all nostalgic, talking about that book, Subway. I love that book. Oh, God.
MTA Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer: Love that book. It is the best. Subway by Christopher Niemann. So good!
Clark: Let’s talk about the program because, so I was here yesterday and I was here with the James Beard Foundation and I was here with Chef JJ Johnson from “Field Trip” down the block, and he gave us this tour. We got ice cream. We got food. We went shopping at Nilu Gift Shop. I mean – and this is just an example – of what you could do with the MTA DineAWAY! campaign.
Meyer: Definitely! Definitely! We're so honored to be partnering with the James Beard Foundation to highlight local, small businesses that are working really hard to bring this city back every day. Much like our transit workers, who are in the system, working really hard, getting those trains moving as fast as we can.
Clark: Yeah, and I love that because when my son was a little younger, he doesn't he's probably too cool, too cool for school to do this now, but we used to go on mystery train rides. We would just go to 125th Street, get on Metro-North I just pick a spot: Cold Spring, Tarrytown, and we go eat there or play and then come home. It was a great adventure and you could really have some fun with it.
Meyer: It's so much fun. And I do the same with my kids and just being able just to take the train, not worry about parking, not worrying about traffic. It's really great and very easy. So visit our website and take a take a look to see those different itineraries that are just so fun.
Clark: Okay, thanks for joining us in this yucky weather. Sarah Meyer, Chief Customer Officer for the MTA. Of course, you could go to mtaaway.com Pat, to find out more and you know, it's really true, we're pretty spoiled here in town. Like I'm sorry, but if you live in the suburbs, you got to drive a half hour to an Applebee's right? Here, we could just take a train or a bus to like some of the best stuff. I'm sorry, did I say that?
Kiernan: No, it’s just [Laughter].
Clark: Train or a bus or a subway.
[More Laughter]
Kiernan: I took a couple days off and was in suburban America for a portion of it, and it's like Applebee's, Olive Garden.
Mornings on 1 Traffic Anchor Jamie Stelter: Outback Steakhouse.
Kiernan: Oh yeah!
Clark: No offense, no offense. Applebee's, whatever.
Kiernan: Roger, thank you.