Originally intended and marketed for daily commuters, the DC Metro now incentivizes purchasing these for anyone traveling on Metro as it's an additional $1, each way, for using a paper fare card, and as DC commuters are aware, it's already pretty expensive to ride the Metro. It is a minimum $10 to purchase -- $2 for the actual card and $8 pre-loaded onto it when you buy it.
I remember when Metro first came out with these and they became the necessary method of exiting a paid parking facility of Metro. Once, in the early days, my mother and I had a hilarious time thinking we could pay cash to leave the lot and there was no attendant to pay. So we backed out over the curb and grass to exit the lot, versus just running back to the station to buy one of these puppies. Whoops! Now, thankfully, you can use credit card OR SmarTrip to pay for parking at a Metro lot.
On the top is my new card, purchased fresh this morning and the bottom, is my fairly in good shape original one. Recently, every time I went in and out of the turn stalls, I'd have to swipe it 3 or 4 times to get it to register, if it registered at all. Even more recently, it'd usually not work after those few swipes, so I'd go to the purchase machines and get it to at least register on them...then it would seem to work to pass through the gates.
In the past few days, I had to resort to going to the Metro attendants and have them "reactivate" or swipe it in their magic machine to make cards work. I tried to see how long I could do this as I had more than $30 left on the old card. Well, I couldn't hold out any longer. I became that person whose card didn't work and was holding up the line, pretty much every time. I'll figure out how to use the money on there, whether it's to pay in a parking lot on the way out, or just use it when it's not rush hour.
Either way, so long first SmarTrip card -- it's been a good decade-plus run. You were the OG of SmarTrip cards and I'll miss you. Well, not really that much.
That's crazy cool that you had your SmartTrip for 10 years! I go through a new one about once every year or so. Either I lose it or the stupid thing gets demagnetized in my pocket next to my phone. I've lost hundreds of bucks over the years!! They say you can register your card when you get it and that'll save your money in such a situation, but I don't like Big Brother knowing my whereabouts and travel habits - that's how Skynet will get started, I bet.
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