Via Baltimore Sun’s Getting There column (and H/T to Unsuck DC Metro’s Twitter), the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and WMATA have worked out an agreement that would allow SmarTrip users to access MTA’s facilities (buses, subway, and light rail) and MTA smart card holders to use Metrorail and Metrobus.
DC and Baltimore residents could “interlope” between the two systems on a single card. This is a dream come true for WMATA riders making trips to Baltimore County. It’s also a delayed dream come true for someone like me, who was promised a smart card by MTA more than three years ago (and that’s only when I started to notice that I needed a SmarTrip-like offering from MTA—and have been impatiently tapping my foot since). So Baltimore County residents with a SmarTrip card could possible use the cards on MTA while they said for MTA to roll out the new cards. (A Baltimore County resident would have to refill funds by debit or credit card online if he or she wanted to avoid traversing to the DC area to do so.)
Neither card will be of use on MARC, but since SmarTrip doesn’t work for the MARC now, this isn’t a big deal. My experience has found there are usually enough self-service ticket dispensers to bypass the lines, tourists, or slow riders. (Wouldn’t MARC have to implement additional services to take a card anyway? How would that work?) I like having my ticket punched on the MARC, so I don’t really want that to change.
“This makes so much sense it's a surprise it could actually happen,” Baltimore Sun’s Michael Dresser wrote this afternoon, putting a calmer face on my abject joy and excitement. (I’m practically jumping out of my skin with excitement.)
My only concern is waiting another three years for MTA’s cards and a seamless transfer of technology, but my fingers are crossed behind my back that we’ll see these updates soon. I’m thrilled Baltimore can have the same hard plastic joy I’m afforded with my SmarTrip.
Comments
For years, the lack of connectivity between the Washington D.C. and Baltimore metro areas has been a real problem for residents who want to work in the Baltimore area and live in the D.C. area and vice versa. Due to a steady rise in population growth, these two metro areas have been converging on each other for the last two decades. Now, it is just one big metropolis.
This is exactly the kind of cooperation and collaboration we need in the greater Washington D.C.-Baltimore metro area! We need to have more of this to improve the connectivity between the two metropolitan areas. More, more, more!
I will be watching for more of this kind of inter-metropolitan area cooperation regarding transporation and will share my findings at nnekajenkins.wordpress.com. Thanks for reading, and please share with others!
A Smartrip Card has been used by me for 5,10 to 12 years while working in DC.. Or in Rockville, MD, College Park, MD. Pentagon or Crystal City, VA anywhere that the Metro in DC goes to, Baltimore's metro is a joke it's has just one line and needs to be cleaned and every day I hear of the elevator being out at many stops of this thing. Why have I never heard of any escalator being not working? DC's metro has five lines is thinking of adding number six, why doesn't Baltimore add #2?
Baltimore's MTA have 2 of them as they classify the Subway and Light Rail with different colors (Subway 'Green' and Light Rail 'Yellow/Blue')
I remember before starting to work in DC, I thought Baltimore was better. Not after going back and forth everyday from the two cities since '91. I began to and will forever know that DC is alot cleaner & better.
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