SMARTRIP, DC METRO,COMMUTERS,

SmarTrip?
accepted on bus systems in
Maryland
and
Virginia

Regional acceptance continues through the summer

SmarTrip® cards are now accepted for more than just Metrobus and Metrorail fares, and Metro parking fees. The acceptance of SmarTrip® cards for payment on public transit throughout the region is well underway and scheduled to continue through the summer.

RideOn bus riders in Montgomery County began paying their fares with SmarTrip at the end of April and DASH riders in Alexandria have been able to pay with SmarTrip since February.

In May, Fairfax County Connector buses, CUE (city of Fairfax) and Loudon County Commuter Bus will install SmarTrip® fareboxes and begin accepting the reusable, plastic fare card for payment. PRTC OmniRide and ART (Arlington) are scheduled to follow this summer.

“The regional acceptance of SmarTrip® will make taking public transportation throughout the Washington metropolitan area easier as riders will only need one form of payment for the entire trip,” said Metro General Manager John Catoe. “The ability to use SmarTrip® on Metro, DASH, RideOn and other buses in Maryland and Virginia helps us make public transportation a more attractive option for the region.”

Metro first introduced the SmarTrip® card in 1999 as a fast and convenient way to pay for Metrorail fares. Customers simply tap their cards to the target on the faregate to enter the station, rather than feeding paper farecards through the gate. To further speed SmarTrip® card users through stations and encourage more people to use the plastic farecard, Metro installed SmarTrip®-only express lanes at five stations last year. Currently, 64 percent of Metrorail riders use SmarTrip®.

In 2004, Metro expanded the SmarTrip® capability to Metrobus riders by installing SmarTrip® fareboxes on its entire fleet of buses. On some Metrobus express routes, 93 percent of riders use SmarTrip®. Overall, about 22 percent of all Metrobus riders pay their fares with SmarTrip®.

Metro riders have made SmarTrip® a popular way to pay for bus and rail trips, and since its launch eight years ago, more than 2.3 million cards have been sold.

“SmarTrip® is a fast and easy way to pay for bus and rail trips,” Catoe said. “Rather than fumbling with paper farecards, paper transfers, dollar bills and loose change, they just tap and go.”

Customers can purchase SmarTrip® cards online at www.MetroOpensDoors.com, at Metro sales offices, retail outlets and commuter stores, or from vending machines at Metrorail stations that have parking facilities. Customers can load up to $300 in value on a SmarTrip® card and should register their cards with the SmarTrip® Regional Customer Service Center. If a card that is registered is lost or stolen, the value on the card at the time it was reported is not lost and Metro will send the rider a new card for a $5 replacement fee.

For information about SmarTrip® visit www.MetroOpensDoors.com. For information about regional bus service, see the “How to travel” section of the Web site or go to http://www.wmata.com/riding/getting2metro.cfm.