Occasional Metro riders soon may be able to avoid one of the biggest pains of parking at Metrorail stations: not having a SmarTrip card, then getting stuck at the exit with no way to pay.
The transit agency is considering an expansion of parking facilities that take credit cards, not just the plastic SmarTrip farecards, to pay parking fees at suburban stations.
For the daily commuter, such a change won’t make much of a difference as they likely already rely on the plastic farecards for their slog to and from work. But visitors or occasional riders rarely want to – or know they need to — shell out $5 for a SmarTrip card just so they can park.
For about four years, the transit agency has had credit card readers at seven parking facilities at rail stations. But now they are ready to expand the pilot to one exit lane each at 22 more sites, according to a Metro report. (That would leave just five facilities without them, but Metro staff said those sites are smaller and require drivers to pay staffed booths upon entry.)
Eventually Metro plans to allow credit cards to pay for everything directly, from fares to parking fees. But that plan is at least a few years away.
This latest proposal also would upgrade the vending machines that sell the SmarTrip cards, which Metro officials said are becoming obsolete. The plan would cost the transit agency $3.2 million. Metro’s board of directors still needs to give final approval, which is expected on Thursday.
