D.C. transit card encounters some bumps along the way
07 September, 2011
category: Contactless, Education, Government, Transit
Washington D.C.’s School District’s new program to shift all of its student transit passes to the new D.C. One Card has become bogged with problems, including technical glitches in Metro’s fare system, according to the Washington Examiner.
City officials spent the Labor Day weekend processing a backlog of 2,500 cards, and then hand-delivered them around the city. “The city had the backlog in processing applications because of a staffing shortage,” said a spokesman for District Department of Transportation.
The Metro also has a problem with the software that let students renew the passes at Metrorail fare vending machines. So for at least a few months, those lucky enough to have one will have to visit a Metro sales office in person each month to renew their cards. The problems may be resolved by November or December, said a spokesman for the Metro.
Once finalized, the passes will serve some 15,000 D.C. public school students, helping them use the Metro system to get to class. In May, students at the School Without Walls tested the cards as part of a pilot program.
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