Senior Citizen's SmarTrip Quest A Bumpy Ride

The yellow Senior SmarTrips are nowhere near as easy to buy as the regular blue-and-green SmarTrips. That's because people need to show proof of age and get their senior cards registered with Metro. Only a handful of sales locations can do that.

They can be done only at Metro sales offices, regional commuter stores and some public libraries in Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel helped me figure out that Frankel had an alternative to the downtown sales offices at Metro Center and Metro headquarters. The transit authority sells Senior SmarTrips at some of its bus depots, including the Northern Division at 4615 14th St. NW, which turned out to be Frankel's closest option.

She said she then called the depot (202-636-3445) and was told that there were only five Senior SmarTrips for sale and that there was no guarantee one would be available by the time Frankel arrived. She went right over. By then, she said, the staff had found a few more, so there were 13 cards available.

"It's just been in the past week that there is such a demand for them," Frankel said in an e-mail. "Why is this a surprise?"

"I showed my ID, paid the five dollars for the card and requested that the remaining $15 from my $20 be put on the card [to pay fares]. Sorry, the apparatus that puts money on the card was not functioning. At least I have my senior citizen SmarTrip card."

The transit authority has been telling riders for many months that the paper transfer system is ending and has taken steps to handle the extra demand for SmarTrip cards.

For example, Metro recently struck a deal with CVS to sell regular SmarTrip cards in 190 of its stores in the Washington area. Also, bus drivers have been instructed on assisting riders as they try to add value to the cards at the fareboxes.

This isn't enough. Frankel's experience illustrates that the information for seniors needs to be clearer and their cards easier to get.

When I called the SmarTrip Regional Customer Service Center at 888-762-7874 on Friday, the service representative was very courteous but did not provide details on buying senior cards that would have been helpful to Frankel. She did not, for example, mention that senior cards could be bought at the 14th Street bus depot. Instead, she suggested making the longer trip to Metro Center.

Dr. Gridlock appears Thursday in the Extras and Sunday in the Metro section. You can send e-mails to drgridlock@washpost.com. Include your name, community and phone numbers. Some letters are published. Get There: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/getthere.