Metro News Release

For immediate release: June 11, 2012

Metro increases maximum paper farecard trade-in limit in advance of July 1 changes

Customers can move up to $20 from paper farecard to SmarTrip® to avoid $1 surcharge

Metro today announced that it is increasing the amount of fare value that can be transferred from a paper farecard to SmarTrip® to encourage customers to transition to SmarTrip® cards in advance of July 1 fare changes.  Beginning July 1, customers using paper farecards will be charged an additional $1 per trip.  Customers can avoid the surcharge by using a SmarTrip® card instead.

Starting today, customers can transfer up to $20 from a paper farecard to their SmarTrip® card at any Fare & Passes vending machine at their Metrorail station.  Previously, the maximum allowable transfer was $7.

Nearly 90 percent of Metrobus riders and more than 80 percent of Metrorail riders currently use SmarTrip®. SmarTrip® saves riders’ money, eliminates the need to stand in line to use vending machines in stations and offers balance protection for registered users who lose their cards.  

SmarTrip® cards cost $5, and can be purchased in advance at selected stations, CVS, Giant Food, Metro Sales offices, regional transit stores or on the web at smartrip.com. Metro will install SmarTrip® card vending machines in all rail stations by September. The installation process has already begun, and the top 10 stations where paper farecards are sold, including Foggy Bottom, Union Station, Smithsonian and Rosslyn will have SmarTrip® dispensers by July 1.

Metro announced other SmarTrip enhancements earlier today.

News release issued at 1:02 pm, June 11, 2012.