Metro Wants to Ditch Current SmarTrip System—In About 4 Years

SmarTrip cards will eventually become a thing of the past as Metro—at nearly 40 years old—steps into the 21st century, The Washington Post reports. 

Metro wants to do away with its current fare collection system that requires customers to convert dollars to SmarTrip money or paper farecards. The system isn't very modern in an age when some retailers are swiping credit cards from their smartphones. 

“If you look at how people are making payments these days with their phones or the cards they already have in their wallet, that’s the way of the future,” said Carol Kissal, Metro’s chief financial officer told the Post. “That’s what we want to adopt.”

Plus, it's costly to run a separate fare system. 

The Post says Metro can spend up to $1 million when it changes fares around because it has to reprogram all of its station and bus software. 

Metro wants a new system that allows customers to either scan their smartphone, swipe a credit card or pay with a key fob in the next four years, according to the paper.