Metro plans to roll out a pilot program to allow riders to pay fares with smartphones, credit cards and other types of devices, officials announced Tuesday.
The pilot program will begin in January at 10 Metrorail stations, six bus routes and two parking facilities. Riders will be able to pay for trips with items like cellphones, contactless credit cards, and other near field communication-enabled devices — like Apple’s latest product, the iWatch.
Metro plans to begin installing new fare readers for the pilot program in October and to recruit customers to participate in coming weeks.
The new system could eventually lead to the phasing out of old fare gates and vending machines. However, officials say the currently used SmarTrip cards will continue to be accepted for the foreseeable future.
The Metrorail stations that will participate in the pilot program are Shady Grove, Eisenhower Avenue, Bethesda, Pentagon City, Pentagon, Ballston, Gallery Place, Farragut West, Navy Yard and Suitland.
The included bus lines are the 37 (Wisconsin Ave Limited), X9 (Benning Rd-H St Limited), 39 (Pennsylvania Ave Limited), K9 (New Hampshire Ave Limited), J4 (College Park-Bethesda Limited), and REX (Richmond Highway Express).
The parking lots at Shady Grove and Suitland Metro stations will also be included in the pilot program.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.