Opinion ID: 494567
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Metrorail Farecard System

Text: 5 Metrorail's fare collection system is almost entirely automated. To enter the metrorail complex, patrons must purchase farecards from vending machines located at station entrances. Each farecard has a magnetic strip on which its fare value is recorded. Turnstile devices (faregates) located in every station are designed to read these strips. To obtain access to the train platforms, a patron must insert his farecard in an entrance faregate that determines the value of his farecard, returns it to him, and allows him to pass if the farecard is worth at least the minimum fare. The area at metrorail stations between faregates and train platforms, including the trains themselves, is called the paid area. 6 Although a patron may enter the metrorail system using a farecard worth only the minimum fare, he may actually owe a higher fare if he travels beyond a certain distance. There is also an additional charge for travel during rush hours. When exiting a station a patron must insert the same farecard he used to enter the metrorail system into an exit faregate. The exit faregate will determine the value of his card and the distance he traveled. If he owes WMATA additional fare, the exit faregate will not open, will emit a characteristic sound, and flash the sign Go To Addfare. The patron must then proceed to an Addfare machine located within the paid area, introduce his farecard in it, and pay whatever additional fare his distance or time of travel requires. Upon payment, the Addfare machine subtracts the fare due from the balance recorded in the card's magnetic strip and returns the card to the patron. If the patron tries to pass through an exit faregate using a farecard other than the one he used to enter the metrorail system, the exit faregate will not be able to determine the distance traveled, will not open, and will flash the sign Stop, See Attendant.