A Boston Metro reader forwarded this note he got today: After 19 years, the paper for subway riders is no more.

In the e-mail to readers, Publisher Ed Abrams and Associate Publisher Susan Peiffer say they had no choice to shut the paper after parent company Metro International sold its New York and Philadelphia editions to a rival freebie publisher last week, leaving them without access to the centralized resources that the three papers had long shared.

The paper quickly became memorable after its 2001 launch for the hawkers who would stand outside T stations giving away copies. A few years ago, Metro replaced them with simple racks. Of course, it was a different era then: Many people still read a newspaper on the way to work; few had phones able to provide them a stream of news and puzzles to keep them busy. For about a year, Boston even had two free newspapers: The Metro and Boston Now.

Abrams and Peiffer conclude:

As you continue to enjoy life in this beautiful city, we hope you will remember Metro Boston as fondly as we will remember you.

The two will keep their jobs running what's left of the Philadelphia Metro under its new owners. They did not say how many people lost their jobs with Boston Metro's closing.

H/t Gary.