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On Aug. 29, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will begin charging a “peak-of-the-peak” fee for Metrorail trips taken between 7:30 and 9 a.m. on weekdays.

A 20-cent peak-of-the-peak fee for trips taken between 4:30 and 6 p.m. weekdays took effect on Aug. 3. The fee is based on the starting time of the trip, or when a rider enters the fare gate at a Metrorail station.

Additional changes to the fare gate exit rule also are being implemented to offset the reduction of the cost of a SmarTrip card from $5 to $2.50. WMATA reduced the cost to encourage customers to use SmarTrip cards.