A little while ago, a reader sent me a series of comments and questions about Metro’s
SmarTrip card program. To me, these questions represented some of the nontraditional questions about this program that might pop up only from time to time. I thought that the answers, courtesy of Metro’s (Acting) Director of Public Relations Lisa Farbstein, might provide some insight to some of you who are current users and might provide answers for those considering getting one.
Reader: Not everyone uses the Metrobus or Metrorail. Many use the benefit for the VRE, MARC, Loudoun County Bus, ART Tokens, etc. Can SmarTrip money be converted to passes for these? This could increase the fraud for using Metrocheks for parking at Metro stations, which is currently not allowed.
Metro: Riders should use the transit benefit only for transit. The IRS has a separate subsidy program for parking. The two should not be commingled. Individuals participating in the SmartBenefits/Metrochek program can use a SmarTrip card to pay their fare on Metrobus, Metrorail, DASH, CUE, Fairfax Connector and Ride On. The remaining commuter bus and commuter rail systems will soon convert to SmarTrip. Accepting passes on SmarTrip is a future enhancement of the regional program.
Reader: The Metrocheks are a good backup for broken SmarTrip cards and situations when the SmarTrip readers are not working.
Metro: Individuals participating in the SmartBenefits/Metrochek program can use a SmarTrip card to pay their fare on Metrobus, Metrorail, DASH, CUE, Fairfax Connector and Ride On. The remaining commuter bus and commuter rail systems will soon convert to Smar
Trip. Accepting passes on SmarTrip is a future enhancement of the regional program. The Metrochek paper voucher program is converting to SmartBenefits. With SmartBenefits, employees can load the commuting benefit onto their SmarTrip card monthly in any Metrorail station. Quarterly distributions of Metrocheks were implemented to ease administration for federal agencies.
Reader: The SmarTrip card limit is $300, yet the quarterly benefit is $330. Will the SmarTrip limit be raised? Or will we have to draw our benefits monthly (versus the current quarterly disbursement)?
Metro: The IRS guidelines indicate that employees should receive transit benefits only to cover their actual monthly commuting expenses.
Reader: What about people who already have a SmarTrip card? Will they now have two? What do you intend to do if they accidentally switchthem?
Metro: For employees to participate in SmartBenefits, they should provide their employer with one registered SmarTrip card serial number. Monthly benefits will not load to a SmarTrip card that is not in the employer’s SmartBenefits account. Employees may use their existing SmarTrip card to participate in SmartBenefits; there is no need to have two SmarTrip cards.
Lastly Lisa suggests the following: Please visit MetroOpensDoors.com and select SmartBenefits if you have any questions or call Metro’s sales team at 202-962-1326 and select Option 1.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
