Metro News Release

For immediate release: August 29, 2003

Metro temporarily suspends SmarTrip card sales due to production problems

Fresh supply expected in early October

Metro SmarTrip card sales will be suspended as of Monday, September 1, due to production problems affecting approximately 25,000 cards which will deplete the inventory of cards available for sale.

The SmarTrip cards have been very popular with Metro customers, and more than 360,000 are in circulation today. Currently, Metro sells approximately 8,000 new SmarTrip cards per month.

A problem with the cards in inventory was discovered during Metro’s normal quality assurance testing at the card initialization process, which takes place just before cards are personalized and shipped to customers. Replacement cards are already in production and will begin arriving at Metro by late September.

A limited supply of SmarTrip cards is available for issuance should a current SmarTrip card holder need a replacement card; however, until the new cards arrive, there may not be enough cards available for new customers.

Retail SmarTrip sales are expected to resume early in October. Metro apologizes for any inconvenience in the temporary suspension of SmarTrip sales during this brief period.

For more information, visit www.metroopensdoors.com.

News release issued on August 29, 2003.