This morning, just before I walked out the door, I reached into the basket I keep right inside the door to grab my metro pass. And... nothing. It wasn't there. I pulled out the coat I wore yesterday and checked the pockets. Also not there. Now, I'm pretty good about putting the pass in the basket when I walk in the door, so I was a bit worried by this point. Checked a few other places in the apartment where it might be, to no avail. I stopped at the desk on my way out of the building, and it hadn't been turned in.
At this point, all I can figure is that I dropped it between the metro station and my house.
Thankfully, the D.C. metro system lets you register your card, and if it is lost or stolen, you can call and they will transfer the funds on the card over to a new card and send it to you right away. They charge $5 for the service, but you're really just paying for a new card, which costs $5.
As of this morning, no one had tried to use my metro card, so I'm starting to wonder if perhaps it fell behind the bookcase when I tossed it in the basket.
Either way, for the peace of mind of knowing that there's no one out there spending all the money on my metro card, I'll happily pay the $5.
So this is a lesson to all of you in the D.C. area with SmarTrip cards - REGISTER YOUR CARD! And if you're not in the D.C. area and have some sort of permanent metro card, check to see if your area has the same type of service. It's fast, and in D.C., it's free. Can't go wrong.
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4 comments:
Is the Metro Card worthwile for tourists to get around D.C. on a budget?
Well, you don't get a discount for having a permanent card (a SmarTrip card). Tourists can just buy a paper card at any Metro station.
The Metro itself is expensive. But it is the best way to get around, tourist or not. It's most expensive during rush hour on the weekdays. I spend over $5 a day commuting, and I don't go that far. But I'm also not sitting in traffic, and most importantly, I'm not paying for parking.
ahh yes, i am very familiar with the losing of the smartcards. i'm on my 3rd one in the past year! haha...
but you're TOTALLY right. register those bad boys as soon as you get them, cuz it can save you loooooads of money :)
i hope you find the old one so you can save $5 the next time!
And not paying for gas : )
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