h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Washington Metro Area Transit Authority(WMATA) has recently installed Smartrip machines in every bus and metro station allowing for easier transit throughout the area.

Smartrip cards work like this:
1. Buy the thing for $10. It will then have an automatic value of $5 as the other 5 went to purchasing the card itself.
2. Go somewhere. Touch the card to the Smartrip Pad near where you would put in your farecard. Tiny electronics in the card will allow the gate to open and you can then get on the Metro.
3. Do the same thing to get off and the little screen will display how much money you have left on the card. Don't worry if you know you don't have enough money on the card in order to make it to the stop you want. The system allows you to have a negative balance and simply put more money on the card later, when you want to go somewhere else.

A final note on the cards. If you have a car and you would like to park it at the station during a time when they charge a fee, you must have a Smartrip card. This is the only form of payment they now accept.

Enjoy your trip on the Metro.

Sounds like my Oystercard...would that work???