Brandon Mullins

Underwater Subway Cars & Sculptures: New business model?

After living in “the city” for one month, I’ve come to appreciate the vast and ubiquitous transportation that shuttles a total of 1.5 billion riders per year to and from their destinations. The means of transportation I’m referring to is, of course, the Subway system. As of 2006, there are 6,200 Subway cars in NYC running across 660 miles of rat-infested track. (Metropolitan Transit Authority)

But as the NYC Transit decides to upgrade and replace these cars, many of which look as though they’ve been gliding down the tracks since 1836, a question begs to be asked: what does the city do with these hunks of rectangular homeless mobile housings? They ship them out to Delaware via container ships to be dumped to the bottom of the Atlantic. That’s what.

As of today, 700 of these 80k lbs. cars have already been nestled deep below the watery surface of the Redbird Reef in Delaware. Why? These abandoned Subway cars double as underwater luxury condominiums for fish, generating fish habitat and coral growth near the shore of the coast. Fish and coral are attaching themselves and moving in so fast that the program is trying to provide more cars. Interestingly enough, other states now want in on the action — currently, NYC provides the cars for free to solely Slaughter Beach, Delaware. Should demand from states rise for these discarded cars, perhaps NYC could begin a bid program which would help subsidize the cost of the new cars. Although, I would imagine a state would have a difficult time justifying the expenditure of its tax-payers’ money towards an old A train from New York.

Could providing habitation platforms for sub-aqua life form be a new trend? Take for instance the Neptune Memorial Reef, the first and largest underwater cemetery, as well as man-made reef. Modeled after “Atlantis: The Lost City,” this reef memorial is home to large, statue-like sculptures 50 feet underwater, 3.25 miles off of the coast of Miami. Within it, relatives can purchase “openings” in certain sculptures which can house jars of cremated remains as a safe keep for deceased loved-ones. Prices range from $1500 - $6000, and the reef is free for anyone to scuba dive through.

I’m not sure as to how many “openings” in this reef there are, but the same value proposition resonates through this concept as the dumping of Subway cars: restore fish habitat and replenish coral growth in what was a barren, sandy area. Through basic research, I’ve found that the Neptunes Memorial Reef has invested just under $1M towards the project, including the sculptures being created, the staff to install them underwater, the boats to get the sculptures out to sea, etc. At an average of say, $3000 per “opening” for an ash jar, that’s quite a bit of dead people to break even on the investment (~ 335). An additional revenue model idea: Neptunes Memorial Scuba Diving, a service which caters to allowing the loved-ones to easily visit the ashes. You watch, it’s coming.

With 70% of the earth’s surface made up by water, perhaps these new underwater landfills and cemeteries are on to something big.