Friday Question of the Day – Metro, Movies, Retail and Books

Photo by PoPville flickr user jsmjr

A WMATA press release says:

Metro riders looking to pick up a movie on their way home will not have to go very far as the video store is coming to a Metrorail station as early as this fall.

Metro’s Board of Directors today (June 24) approved a license agreement with NCR/Blockbuster and Movie Solution to place DVD rental machines in stations and to allow Old Town Trolley Tours to sell tickets for its familiar green and orange trolley buses that provide sightseeing tours of Washington’s monuments and other points of interest.

In exchange for use of the Metrorail system for the rental of movies and sale of tour tickets, Metro will receive an estimated $928,000 over an eight-year period with guaranteed revenue of $116,000 in the first year.

NCR/Blockbuster will have DVD rental machines at three stations: the Gallery Pl-Chinatown (Verizon Center entrance), Metro Center and Pentagon City Metrorail stations. Movie Solution will have DVD rental machines located at 10 stations: the Farragut North (K Street entrance), Farragut West (17th Street entrance), Foggy Bottom, L’Enfant Plaza, Metro Center, Union Station (1st Street entrance), Bethesda, New Carrollton, Shady Grove and Rosslyn Metrorail stations. Old Town Trolley Tours will place ticket sales and information booths at both entrances of the Smithsonian Metrorail station.

“Retail services in stations will be good for riders and Metro, especially right now in this economy,” said Jim Graham, Chairperson of Metro’s Board Joint Development and Real Estate Committee.

Do you think the ability to rent movies at metro stations is a good idea?  For those looking for good movie rentals, we spoke about our favorites here. What other retail options do you think should be available in metro stations?

Photo by PoPville Flickr user D©Bloom

And completely unrelated – I’m looking for a good fun fiction book for next weekend if anyone has any recommendations. We spoke about favorite books back in Sept. ’08 but I’m looking for some current recommendations, if you have any good ones.