Metro Fails, Fixes

(Click for larger)

Reader Richard realized he was getting overcharged when the peak of the peak started.

In the afternoon, I reverse commute home from Tysons Corner to McPherson Square. I start with a bus in Tysons, and the fare is $1.50. When I get to West Falls Church, I take the train to McPherson Square. The regular fare is $3.60, but with the 50-cent bus transfer discount it is only $3.10. When the peak of the peak began on Tuesday, I expected the fare to be 20 cents more at $3.30, however, it has been charging me $3.80 every time since Tuesday. It is ignoring my 50 cent transfer discount from the bus.

He contacted Metro customer service twice, but never got a response.

I sent a request to the SmarTrip customer service center last Tuesday evening and have not heard back. I sent a request through the normal Contact Us form on Metro's website Thursday morning and still have not heard back.

On Tuesday, he emailed interim GM Sarles about the issue, which seemed to work:

I received an email from Steven Holland who is the director of Customer Service, Sales, and Fare Media Services that says an engineer confirmed the problem and has been working on it. It will be fixed. He said he will stay in touch with me to make sure I get the money credited back to my account.

Yesterday, we received the following from Richard:

It's been fixed! It deducted the correct amount tonight.