There are two ways to pay for a metro ride a paper fare card or a Smarttrip card. The paper cards can be purchased from vending machines in every station. Smarttrip cards can be purchased at vending windows in just a few stations and CVS. The Smarttrip card cost $5 plus whatever fare you put on them, while paper fare cards have no upfront cost before the fare.
With the new fare increase rides with a paper fare card cost 25 cents more than a Smarttrip. So in less you go on 20 metro rides, it's cheaper to use paper cards. On average though tourist who only use the metro a few times will pay more per trip than a regular native rider.
Even better for DC folks Smarttrip cards will be reduced to 2.50 at the end of August.
Final thought the fare increase is because the metro system is not earning enough money. Since metro has a monopoly on mass transit, this means it could gain even more profit by raising prices even further, but it is not a profit maximizer.
2 comments:
This isn't new. It's been a few years now since Metro has been requiring SmartTrip for parking at a metro facility. I often see irate tourists at Glenmont Station at the SmartTrip machine trying to get their car out of the garage (parking without realizing they couldn't pay with cash and trying to leave without having any idea what they're supposed to do.)
I wonder if their costs are reduced when you use the Smarttrip card, so they want to incentivize that?
But you're right, it works out as tax on people who use the system infrequently.
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