PPE in subway vend machines

Face masks, gloves and hand sanitizer are for sale at vending machines installed at 10 subway stations — a move that doubles down on MTA efforts to give out millions of free masks to riders.

The new vending machines expand on a pilot program the Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched last year after the agency had trouble leasing roughly 130 subway newsstands — or 40% of them — to human vendors.

The new vending machines sell something everyone needs — but face masks are also available for free at token booths at any subway stop, and MTA and city workers give them away from tables set up in busy subway stops around the city.

Transit officials believe the vending machines are a useful compliment to the handouts.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for customers who may not have masks to get them so they can ride the subway,” said interim NYC Transit President Sarah Feinberg.

The new vending machines go live Wednesday, and are already in place at 10 key stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.