Due to unprecedented snowfall, the MBTA has stressed that riders should prepare for long waits and subsequent crowding until the end of the month of February. Though Boston’s collective frustration seems to be approaching an all time high, T riders at Park Street Station are being urged to look on the bright side.

“Optimism Tickets” were distributed at Park Street Thursday morning, as “therapy for your commute.” They’re set to expire “when the snow melts.”

Update 10:45 a.m.: The “Optimism Tickets” were created by Alice Donovan, a graphic designer and Boston University graduate student.

“Commuter therapists” Alice Donovan and Alex Rouse handed out Optimism Tickets at Park St. Thursday morning.

Donovan passed out the tickets with her fiancé, Alex Rouse, a mobile developer at Raizlabs in downtown Boston, from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Donovan plans to do the same thing Friday morning, she told BostInno in an email, adding: “I am going to head to Kenmore after if I have any tickets left.”

Crafted inside BU’s Engineering Product Innovation Center, the optimistic messages were printed “on white cardstock” then “laser-cut” into individual tickets, Donovan said.

The making of Alice Donovan’s “Optimism Tickets.”

“The card is designed to be slightly bigger than the usual T card so that it will not fit in the [fare] machines and the mag strip is not real,” she explained. “The last thing I want to do is cause more problems for the MBTA so I didn’t want people getting them stuck in the machines.”

Donovan didn’t speak with the T beforehand, she said.

Earlier: Molly Binder said she was handed an “Optimism Ticket” at Park St. at 8:15 a.m. Thursday morning.

When Binder asked what it was, “I was told ‘just something to make you smile.” She said “at least two young adults” were handing the tickets out.

The T is aware of the “Optimism Tickets,” but the transit authority was not directly involved in their making or distribution.

“The MBTA fully recognizes and understands the level of frustration expressed by many of our loyal customers,” T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo told BostInno in an email. “We will continue to work very hard to restore service throughout the system, and deliver the quality of service our customers expect and deserve.”

A message on the front of Binder’s ticket reads:

Use this care as a form of anger management. Keep for yourself or share with others who seem like they might need it.

The initial value of an “Optimism Ticket” is $1 million. It’s remaining value unfortunately is $0. On the back, the ticket reads: “Trust the journey.”

Pictures via @Mollasaurus_; Alice Donovan.

The tickets were created by a Boston University graduate student, who says she'll be dishing out more optimism Friday morning.
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