SmarTrip plans to give more alternatives with new technology
By: Kytja Weir
Examiner Staff Writer
June 5, 2009
Transit riders soon may be able to use the same farecard to ride Metro as they do to travel on the Baltimore transit system or even borrow books from D.C. libraries.
All the local bus services around the region, such as Ride On, ART, the Connector and Circulator, already let riders use the plastic SmarTrip cards to store money for transit fares.
Now the Maryland Transit Administration plans to incorporate the same technology in its farecard system, said Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith. Officials expect to begin the program in early 2010, she said.
The cards would look different from Metro’s blue and green cards, but they would allow people to use the same card on transit systems across Northern Virginia up to Baltimore.
MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter trains would be the only local public transit systems not using the technology. Neither service returned calls for comment Thursday.
The addition comes as Metro is upgrading the technology to make the cards not only easier to use in more places but also just easier to use. The transit agency is creating a Web site slated to debut late this year that eventually will allow riders to access the balance and transaction history of their cards, report lost or stolen ones, or add money online.
Meanwhile, other groups besides transit agencies are considering adding the technology.
Schools and other institutions have talked to Metro about adding the SmarTrip chips to their identification cards, Smith said.
The District has tested the concept on some of its employee identification cards, she said.
The city is starting to incorporate the technology into a card known as the D.C. One Card that ultimately could embed a driver’s license with the SmarTrip technology, plus access to the public library system, schools and recreation centers.
The city offers the cards to some school students, summer youth employees and Parks and Recreation Department patrons, but the fully loaded card is not available to all yet.
The expansion of the SmarTrip technology comes as Metro is pursuing an alternative to the SmarTrip system. Metro officials want to let riders use credit or debit cards directly in the transit system. Riders could skip the step of loading money onto SmarTrip cards and wave a credit card — or possibly cell phone — embedded with a special chip through the fare gate, which would charge the correct fare.
Metro officials say the credit card technology would not supplant the SmarTrip system anytime soon, but instead give riders another alternative.
kweir@washingtonexaminer.com
