WMATA aims to improve fare-payment options

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will lower the cost of a new SmarTrip card to $2 starting Oct. 1 to improve fare-payment options for riders.

Riders purchasing a SmarTrip card at a Metrorail station vending machine or CVS store still will pay $10, but the card will come loaded with $8 in value rather than the current $5, WMATA officials said in a press release.

Later this year, the agency expects to award a contract for a new fare payment system — in addition to SmarTrip — that will allow riders to pay for their trip by tapping their next-generation mobile phone, credit or debit card at the fare gate, they added.