Getting around town - the Metro fare system
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 11:54AM A quick and easy way to find out what particular sub-species of city dweller you are dealing with is to engage them in a conversation about the underground mass transit system they are familiar with. New Yorkers, of course, will respond with a discussion of the Subway, with terms such as "express" vs. "local", "IRT", "A Train", etc. thrown about with wild abandon. Bostonians have their T, Chicagoans their L, and Londoners, of course, the Tube. A Washingtonian, on the other hand, will give you a little look when you ask about the subway, and direct you instead to the nearest Metro station.
Technically, the Metro system incorporates both the MetroRail and buses operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), but anyone who says they're "taking the Metro" normally means simply the rail portion. As DC's bus system is somewhat more complicated, let's leave that for later and tackle the rail portion today. And, as even that is a bit involved, let's just talk about paying for it, for now.
To start off with, Metro charges for distance traveled, so you must swipe your fare card both when you get on and when you get off. The money isn't deducted until you get off. The fare structure is a bit complicated, so bear with me here. Basic fares start at $1.65 ($1.35 off peak times), with longer distances costing more, up to $4.50. Since price varies with both time of day and distance traveled, you would have to keep a spreadsheet on you at all times to answer the simple question "How much would this trip cost?" My advice, ignore all this and just make sure you have at least five bucks on your card at all times.
But what type of card? The standard paper card either comes in a per trip version or on a daily/weekly card. Your per trip card can have up to $45 dollars on it, so you don't have to buy a new one every time you ride. The daily card is $7.80 and the weekly is $26.40 (max $2.65/trip) or $39 (unlimited). A critical caveat: the daily is not good before 9:30 am for workdays. If you plan to be in town Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal Holidays, that's not a problem, but if not that can be a huge inconvenience. As the price break on a daily is 4-5 trips, and the convenience is limited, I'm skeptical of the passes. There are many better ways to save money than here. Just think, you're avoiding a rental car fee right now!
I'd recommend, instead, purchasing SmartTrip Cards. In addition to the Metro Rail, if you have any plans to ride the bus, either the Metro ones or the more convenient Circulators (more on this later), this is a much stronger option as paper fare cards don't work on them. The SmartTrip Card is a plastic card that is swiped on top of the fare gate as opposed to inserted into the slot. You can hold up to $300 per card and, if you register it, you will only have to pay a $5 replacement cost if you loose the card. In other words, if there is $200 on the card, you just pay $5 and get a card with $200 on it.
The Card costs $5, plus the money you put on it. It can be ordered online, and at some local CVS drug stores and Giant grocery stores. I'm told they're also available at outlying Metro stations, but I don't really make it out that way, so I don't know how that works. I think dragons live out there, so be careful if you do go. I'm pretty sure the world drops off a giant ledge somewhere around Rockville.
Once you have the card, value can be added at any Metro station with either cash or credit cards. You simply have to use the machines that are only one decade behind current technology instead of three. You can recognize them because they take credit cards and have more buttons. It can also be added with cash on any Metro Bus, but you're not going to make a whole lot of friends that way.
So, again, I'd buy a SmartTrip Card online, before you arrive, with a rough idea of how much money you'll need based on your itinerary. And no, you can't just put all the money on one card; you will need one card per person. It might end up costing you a few bucks more than an all day pass, but the convenience will be well worth it.
Coming soon: how not to look like a tourist on the Metro!
Metro, Welcome to Washington 
Reader Comments (5)
You're purposefully doing the lose/loose thing just to bother me, aren't you...?
Do you know how hard it is to work "lose" into a post?
As one of those who lives in Terra Incognita, you can indeed buy SmarTrip cards where "there be dragons". Anywhere there is a large lot, you'll find SmarTrip dispensing machines. Why?
You need them to get out of the parking lots. That is another big big big reason to get a SmarTrip card if you are a tourist. If you decide to save money on your hotel room by staying on the outskirts of the Metro map, you might be driving, so you might be parking.
we've only been using the paper cards, and so far it has been fine for us. One desensitized card that I trade in at Metro Center...
The issue I have with the ticket machines is that there are three of us, but my credit card gets rejected after adding fare for two cards. So I have to have two credit cards at the ready. The same thing happens in NYC, so I wasn't surprised, just annoyed.
I guess if were to use the bus more often, I would look into the SmartTrip card. But for our one week a month, the paper cards have generally served us fine, and the girls can't wait to see if we will get Obama, pandas or something else.
Gave in and bought a SmarTrip card at CVS, since we were going to do a train/bus trip to get to Vienna, and I am sold.
One really nice thing is that I could add the paper farecards to the SmarTrip card at the fare machine -- no more having to get the exact fare to get rid of an extra card!
The girls get a kick out of slapping their cards -- and looking more like locals than tourists....