Metro News Release

For immediate release: October 2, 2006

Metro debuts new faregate express lanes that accept SmarTrip only

For passengers who use Metro’s SmarTrip card, riding Metrorail just got a whole lot easier. The transit authority introduced SmarTrip-only express lanes at five Metrorail stations today in an effort to move SmarTrip card users through the faregates more quickly.

The test program is taking place at the Anacostia (north mezzanine), New Carrollton, Vienna, Bethesda and Pentagon City Metrorail stations where approximately 80 percent of riders pay their fares with SmarTrip. At each of these stations, four of the nine or 10 faregates will be converted to accept only SmarTrip cards. The remaining faregates will accept both paper farecards and SmarTrip.

With SmarTrip-only aisles, 32 customers can pass through a faregate each minute, compared with 22 per minute currently. It would be similar to E-ZPass lanes on the highways.

“By creating ‘express lanes’ in Metrorail stations we hope to speed the trip for SmarTrip users and ease congestion at the faregates. SmarTrip users will tap and go through faregates much more quickly in dedicated SmarTrip aisles instead of waiting for a faregate to process a paper farecard in front of them,” said Metro Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini.

Metro is using existing funds to make software changes, and is developing and installing overhead signs for the SmarTrip-only lanes.

Since their introduction in 1999, Metro has issued more than 1.8 million SmarTrip cards, of which more than 1 million cards are in use today. Approximately 53 percent of Metrorail riders and 18 percent of Metrobus riders use SmarTrip to pay their fares.

News release issued on October 2, 2006.