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Yesterday, Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) began seeking volunteers to test a new "smart" electronic farecard, the CharmCard. The card can be used to pay fares on Metro trains and buses by tapping the card on a faregate or farebox.

Scheduled to begin in early April, the test will include the Metro subway and buses, as well as train and bus services in Washington, D.C., Montgomery and Prince George's counties, and northeastern Virginia.

The credit-card sized CharmCard is embedded with a computer chip that keeps track of the stored cash value and whether the user has purchased a daily, weekly or monthly pass.

After the test period is completed in spring and final software deployment in summer, the CharmCard will be available to the public in fall, according to MTA.