Metro is allocating $1.5 million toward SmarTrip customer service improvements as calls to the agency’s customer service center have spiked to as many as 2,000 a day since the January fare increase.

“We’ve been experiencing unprecedented levels of call volumes,” Metro Director of SmarTrip Operations and Policy Gregory Garback said. “Ridership continues to creep up, but the number of people holding our SmarTrip cards continues to grow as well.”