How to Use SmarTrip to Ride DC Metro (3 Different Ways)

[@sshuey69]

My gf and I spent Thanksgiving week 2024 in DC doing LOTS of walking and as many monuments and museums as possible...as well as the National Cathedral on Thanksgiving Day. In preparation, we watched MANY MANY of Trip Hacks DC's videos and found then VERY informative and valuable. This includes this video giving us the confidence to use the Metro from/to Dulles and McPherson station (saving us a couple hundred bucks) as well as a couple other trips (Arlington, Capitol South) on days when 15,000 steps were enough and 25,000 steps was not a goal. Thanks for the all the information and sorry you were not doing tours that week! Thanks for being a resource making DC more accessible for those of us from "outside"!

[@showdown2006]

As a visitor from out of the country, I gotta say this is a huge win here. We can add our smarTrip cards to our phones so that way we don't have to worry about losing them and buying new ones every time we come to DC. Then just add money to the cards before we even fly to DC so once we exit the airport we can go straight to the Metro and start the journey. If we need to reload hey great can just do it via your phone instead of having to run to a station to do it. This is one of the big reasons I love to travel to DC, well done!

[@elizabethchamberlain6893]

Thanks for sharing this information. I have learned quite a bit about traveling in DC from your videos and podcasts. You are my “go-to” resource for all things DC. Your work is greatly appreciated. 😊

[@TripHacksDC]

Much appreciated!

[@TRACI-q6l]

Thanks Rob! I use a physical card as well. 55 more days until I get to come back to DC for 3 weeks. Always a pleasure

[@TripHacksDC]

Enjoy your trip!

[@eddie_saunders]

Just switched over to the mobile card for my trip a few weeks back. Must say, so much nicer than the cards.

[@timothycampbell9762]

I second buying a physical card. I use the metro everyday and I have seen so many people have issues correctly using the phone to pay. The physical card is quicker.

[@raggenx]

Hay, can you make a video about how to see all the monuments on a budget, if you can't do a lot of walking, after the "connector" bus shuts down?

[@EscapingtheEmptyNest]

Great video Rob! Urban Caffeine hasn't posted in several months, but I love her content, hopefully she comes back someday. We're still undecided if we are going to get passes or not. We like using public transportation a lot, even for short trips. I figure if we are there for 3 days, we would each have to tap 5 times per day to make it worth it. See you on Saturday!

[@TripHacksDC]

Yeah, I think it's better for 90% of people but you may well fall in the 10% that benefits from a pass.

[@Gloriyaspacs]

Hey Rob your videos are really great and informative. Would you please upload a video on pentagon tour that is free for tourists 😊

[@Jacklewis1026]

Hey Rob Thank you so much for that great video. Came back from a one day trip. While I was not able to go inside many of the monuments, with the smart card I bought a day pass just to be sure I had available *$$. Made a stop at Arlington Cemetery, then back on several times over the course of day. Took a pix of the train map on my iPad put it on as desktop. Instant guide . Very successful trip thanks to your video

[@TripHacksDC]

Glad to hear it.

[@MrStan0630]

I was in Glasgow, Scotland this summer, and they have an open payment system. I like the DC Metro, but it must be one of the most expensive transit systems in the world. A $5.00 fare is common.

[@kikisiggy]

I can’t wait to go back to DC for a visit. I will definitely try the Apple Wallet option next time. Those kiosks are sooooooo confusing! Thanks for your wonderful videos!

[@TripHacksDC]

Thanks for watching!

[@IAMHIMBRuV]

Rob, can u help me get a way to get to Woodley park zoo from Franconia Springfield station. (QUICKEST ROUTE)?

[@brentnearhood8874]

Thanks! Rob

[@TripHacksDC]

You're welcome!

[@ctrlthealt]

Tiny correction for iPhones: the part of your phone that you tap to the reader is the top edge of the phone, not in the center like you showed in the video. Usually the signal is strong enough that it works regardless, but it's better to tap the right part of the phone in the first place!

[@skybluejay9473]

Thanks Rob, is there a way we can tell if there is any balance remaining on our cards from our last trip, prior to arriving in D.C.?

[@bostonelevatorsaviation]

Yes there is. You would have to register the card to the WMATA website as far as I know. There’s no universal way to check without registering the card

[@paschoalnuccineto7808]

Thanks Rob. Great explanations. We are from Brazil (a warm country) and we will be visiting DC between December 30th and January 2nd and our concern is whether the metro is really better than renting a car because of the cold. Is it possible to walk between the museums or will we have problems with the snow? Are scooters also available at that time? Thank you very much.

[@TripHacksDC]

Yes! Just register your cards on smartrip.wmata.com to see the balances.

[@TripHacksDC]

Please check out the Trip Hacks DC podcast episode about weather (it not nearly as cold or snowy in DC as you think) and the episode about transportation options (I do not believe tourists should be driving rental cars in DC).

[@bennycohen]

Cool

[@TripHacksDC]

😎

[@govermeyer]

I currently use a physical Senior (yellow) SmarTrip card. Am I able to add that card to my Apple Wallet and continue to receive the senior discount?

[@bostonelevatorsaviation]

Yes you can. Follow all the steps as demonstrated. When you get to the SmarTrip card screen, click “Transfer Existing card,” and follow the instructions Now I should note, once it’s on Apple Wallet the physical card will get deactivated and will not work anymore.

[@KeziahWestwood]

If you have more than one card saved on your phone, you can only use one card at a time. 😊

[@TripHacksDC]

Yep! One phone per rider.