CVS SmarTrip fare machines facing problems
By: Kytja Weir
June 18, 2009
It may not be as easy to add value to Metro’s SmarTrip cards as the transit system promised when it announced earlier this week that customers could add money to the plastic farecards at 106 CVS stores.
Reloading SmarTrip
Metro announced earlier this week that riders could add value to their SmarTrip cards at CVS and Giant Food stores around the region. The details:
» 106 CVS stores
» Eight Giant Food stores, with 42 more later in the summer if the pilot program is successful
» Riders cannot add SmartBenefits on the machines.
» For a list of stores where the machines are located, visit:.wmata.com/fares/smartrip/smartrip_load.cfm.
Employees at some of the drugstores say they don’t have working machines and some machines can’t accept credit cards.
Bob Isard and his wife, Karen, also ran into the problem when they tried one store in the District listed on Metro’s Web site as having the service. They were told the store could not add value to their SmarTrip card. Store employees referred them to another store about 12 blocks away.
“Imagine our surprise when we got to the next store and those nice folks told us that they couldn’t sell fares either,” Bob Isard wrote to The Examiner in an e-mail.
Metro introduced the portable fare machines in April as a way to make it easier to use the farecards, especially for bus riders who wanted to pay with credit or debit cards. The agency has been trying to encourage more riders to use the reusable plastic farecards instead of paper cards that easily bend or demagnetize.
The additional sites for reloading the farecards became especially important because in January Metro stopped accepting paper transfer slips on buses. Riders now need to have the plastic farecards to receive a discount when transferring between buses or onto trains. But buses accept only cash or Metro tokens for adding value.
The machines at the CVS stores and a handful of Giant Food grocery stores were intended to expand the number of locations and the payment options for riders.
Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said the stores The Examiner found have requested additional training or maintenance on the machines.
“When a machine doesn’t work, the retailer is supposed to call a special help desk number to have the unit fixed,” Asato said.
She said the agency encouraged customers to report problems to the SmarTrip Regional Customer Service Center: 888-762-7874.
