WASHINGTON — Our Most D.C. Thing comes from zygots on Reddit who shared a photo of a Metro fare gate showing their Smartrip balance with the caption “Forgot to turn off deposits from work since WFH... Really hope I don't lose this card.”
I hope that you don’t lose that card either! $1,217.80 is on the line! That’s enough to take a Metro to Mars! I recommend registering that Smartrip online so that the funds can be recovered if the card is ever lost, stolen or demagnetized. Don’t leave that money on the table, even if it’s going to take you four years of random trips to use up that balance.
If I were the owner of that card I would be planning post-COVID Metro field trips just to burn up the balance. Might as well explore the Silver Line just because with that much sitting on your card. Just don’t explore the Green Line too hard. You’re going to see some things. Also, the Red Line appears to be quite flammable.
Now that you’re armed with that knowledge, have fun mastering the inner working of every station on the colorful Metro map.
This is the Most D.C. Thing because so many people who relied on Metro to get to and from work have not had to take it for months during this period of social distancing. As places open back up, it’s going to seem pretty surreal to some.
Probably not quite as surreal as finding out that you have almost enough money to cover 1 month’s rent on a studio apartment on your Smartrip, but surreal nonetheless.