WMATA is hosting another merchandise pop-up this week, after the success of its anniversary shop in June. Called Metro U, it’s a returning event geared towards back-to-school shopping. It runs from August 18 to September 4 at 300 7th St., SW.
There are a few items that rolled over from the last pop-up, so commuters who missed out on the anniversary pullovers, hats, totes, t-shirts, and Metro-dot accessories have the opportunity to collect them now. Georgetta Nicol, Metro’s director of marketing, says the anniversary pop-up had the largest turnout of the nine they’ve done.
The new pop-up also features an array of school-themed items, including letterman jackets, notebooks, writing utensils, sports balls, computer covers, AirPods cases, and a whole line of brown and cream colored Metro U t-shirts and sweat-sets. There are stickers, magnets, key chains, and other assorted trinkets as well. For the dedicated collectors, trading cards come with each purchase. WMATA also tells us that they’re planning to organize a trading meet-up later in the year.
When the pop-up opened this morning at 10 AM, there was a line down the block to get in. One shopper, La’Niyah Coleman, is a student at American University. Coleman says lots of AU students wear WMATA merchandise and are passionate about the Red Line, which is the closest to the school. Coleman has been to four of the last five pop-ups and says he’ll be back for all future events as well. “I come from a place where we didn’t really have public transportation, so it’s nice to be able to have the freedom to go to many different places,” he says. ” I come [to the pop-up] and spend maybe a bit too much, but I do really like all the merch and shirts.”
Nicol tells Washingtonian that the next pop-up will run from the Saturday after Thanksgiving until the Saturday before Christmas. But before that, WMATA will be adding some of its most popular pop-up items to its online store in September.
If you’re planning to make your way down to the shop, take a sneak peak of the available Metro U items:
