Metro is asking riders for some help.
The transit agency is trying to figure out what to call the “virtual tunnel” it is creating in the fall between the Farragut North and Farragut West stations.
The tunnel isn’t a physical tunnel connecting the two stations that line Farragut Square. Instead it’s a computer-programming tweak to the fare system. Riders still would have to leave the stations and walk about a block, but they wouldn’t be charged for the re-entry into the system.
The idea has been kicked around for years but the agency says it is finally coming this fall, as The Washington Examiner first reported in March. Spokesman Dan Stessel said last week officials completed the programming and plan to test drive it this summer.
Still, the term “virtual tunnel” sounds a bit wonky, the agency concedes. So Metro created a Facebook campaign to solicit riders’ ideas for what to call the new system.
The next challenge will be how to show the tunnel on the map. (In the spring, the blog Greater Greater Washington sponsored a contest for a redesigned Metro map and asked designers to come up with a way to show the tunnel. Here’s what they came up with.)
