Berlin Subway Sneakers: Limited edition sneaker comes with a subway ticket

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Berlin's transit authority has partnered with the shoe company Adidas for an unusual collaboration. They've created a limited edition sneaker that also comes with a subway ticket, good for 2018. CGTN's Ira Spitzer has more from Berlin.

These Berliners are camped out in freezing cold temperatures to buy a pair of shoes. But these Adidas sneakers are more than just a fashion statement. Anyone wearing them is allowed free access to the city's subways and buses for the rest of the year.

QUANG SHOE BUYER "The shoes are super popular since there's only 500 of them in existence. I want to have them both as a train ticket and also as a keepsake."

The city's transport authority, the BVG, came up with the marketing campaign with the German sports-goods company Adidas. They say it's the first of its kind in the world.

SIGRID NIKUTTA BVG CHAIRWOMAN "We are showing with this how cool Berlin's public transportation is. How cool it is to take the subway, buses, and trams in Berlin."

The shoes cost 220 dollars, but the value of the yearly ticket is worth four times that. That caught the attention of both shoe collectors and those looking to save some money on travel costs.

While the people who stood in this line for days are clearly excited about this shoe, there are also those who think the transit authority has more important things to worry about.

Critics point out that the transport authority is basically a monopoly which doesn't need to spend so much money and energy on marketing.

JENS WIESEKE BERLIN PASSENGER ASSOCIATION "We have a situation where the city is growing by 50-thousand people a year and doesn't have enough subway cars. Seen in this light, the sneakers don't seem like such a great idea."

It's not just free train rides that inspired people to brave the cold though. Some pairs of the shoes were immediately selling for upwards of a thousand dollars online. For shoe collectors, this limited edition series may be just the right fit. Ira Spitzer, CGTN, Berlin.