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Obama metro tickets now on sale

Commemorative metro cards are now available at many metro vending machines. The cards will replace the regular paper fare cards with the two pandas on them. So far, they are loaded in machines on the green and yellow lines, but metro hopes to have them in all machines by the end of the year. The cards have a picture of President-elect Barack Obama’s face on them and are being marketed as keepsakes for the inauguration.  Metro printed about 5 million of the cards, and expect the supplies to last through inauguration. For folks travelling from out of town, planning to visit the DC area for the event, metro day passes are available here on line via metro’s website. The cards cost $10 online. $7.80 if you buy them in person before inauguration – the cost goes up to $10 on inauguration day. Cards remain valid until they day they are used.

 

Also available are Obama SmartTrip cards. Metro is charging $10 for the Obama cards, $5 more than the normal cards. In addition, they will also be charging more for riding the trains on January 20^th. Peak-fare prices will be charged for all trips during the entire day. “We are charging rush hour fares to meet an unprecedented demand for service,”says Metro General Manager John Catoe. “The additional revenue will not cover the costs of providing extra service for the Inauguration, but it will help.