Metro News Release

For immediate release: August 9, 2004

Entire Metrobus fleet now equipped with new SmarTrip fareboxes

Today, Metro officials rolled out the last Metrobuses to be equipped with the new SmarTrip fareboxes. All 1,450 Metrobuses now have the high-tech fareboxes that accept SmarTrip cards, extending the use of smart card technology throughout the region. SmarTrip is Metro’s permanent rechargeable farecard that customers can load with value, use repeatedly and reload with more value as needed. Smart card technology came to Metro in May 1999, and now more than 350,000 customers use a SmarTrip card on Metrorail, Metrobus, and to pay for parking at Metro-operated parking lots. The first of the SmarTrip fareboxes was installed in the fall of 2001 for the start of a nine-month testing process. Following the testing, some adjustments to the software program were made and installation began on a garage-by-garage basis until the last garage of buses was outfitted this past weekend. Approximately one half million people per day ride Metrobus and now all bus customers will be able to use the same simple-to-use SmarTrip card when taking both bus and rail trips. The SmarTrip card helps make transferring easy because customers no longer have to count out exact change for the bus, but can just tap their SmarTrip card when boarding the bus. The farebox will deduct the proper amount. The new farebox even recognizes when a customer is transferring from the Metrorail system onto the bus, so it " knows" to credit the customer with the proper discount for the transfer. " All of our bus customers are now in a new era of convenience marked by seamless, effortless travel without having to worry about cash or fumbling with coins," said Jack Requa, Chief Operating Officer for Metrobus. Bus customers can still pay for their fares with cash" except pennies" passes, tokens, or tickets, " But for those with a SmarTrip card, it’s a simple matter of touch and go," Mr. Requa explained. The fareboxes are heavy-duty metal boxes similar to the ones that have been sitting at the entrance to buses for years. The main difference is that these new fareboxes allow customers to touch their SmarTrip card to pay their bus fare, making it as easy to use as a faregate at a Metrorail station. Customers touch the card to the SmarTrip target and the farebox deducts the correct fare amount. Additionally, customers are able to add value using cash to their SmarTrip cards on the bus by touching the " Add Value" button on top of the farebox and then inserting the desired amount of money. Paper cash is inserted in a bill validator as on Metrorail ticket vending machines and coins are deposited in the opening directly beneath the bill validator. Pennies are not accepted in the new fareboxes. This is part of an overall effort by Metro to reduce the cost of handling coins on the system. Pennies are not accepted by Metrorail ticket machines or by most other vending machines. Should a customer inadvertently put pennies in the farebox, they will be returned. " We recommend that customers use large denomination bills when adding value to their SmarTrip cards at the farebox," said Murray Bond, Metro’s Director of SmarTrip Operations, " as that will speed the process." The bus fareboxes also do not accept credit or debit cards. Complete instructions for using the new farebox are provided on the farebox. This information also is available in Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages by calling 202-637-7000. Customers can get information about or report a problem with the SmarTrip card by calling 202-962-5719 weekdays from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Plans call for the SmarTrip card-accepting fareboxes to be installed on 16 other transit systems in Maryland and Virginia including: RideOn, The Bus, Annapolis Transit, Baltimore MTA and MARC Corridor Transit Corporation, Frederick Transit, Harford County Transportation Services, Howard County Transit, ART, CUE, DASH, Fairfax Connector, Loudoun County Transit, PRTC/OmniRide, and Virginia Railway Express. SmarTrip cards cost $5 each, plus the amount of fare the individual wants to purchase on the card. Customers may add up to $200 in value on a SmarTrip card, so it can last a long time between charging. SmarTrip is available for purchase by cash or credit/debit card at any of three Metro sales offices; via U.S. mail; at six specific Metrobus divisions; and at Metrorail stations with parking lots. SmarTrip sales locations are available online or by calling 202-637-7000. If someone loses a SmarTrip card, they don" t lose the value. For a $5 fee to replace the card itself, Metro will reissue a new SmarTrip card with the value on the card at the time the customer notified officials that it was lost. For this valuable replacement feature, customers must register their card, either at the point of purchase, via the mail or online.

News release issued on August 9, 2004.