Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Saturday Thanks Don't End At Thanksgiving Photo: November 28, 2009
Just like November 5 saw a run on post-election editions of the Washington Post and New York Times, Metro says it is doing brisk business with their commemorative Barack Obama inauguration SmarTrip card.
According to WTOP, 20,000 of the cards have been sold online since they were rolled out in late December, while long lines have formed at sales centers. Another 40,000 cards should be available before the inauguration. They each cost $10 with no fare added or $20 with $10 preloaded on the card, $5 more than a regular SmarTrip. Each card features an image of a smiling Obama, with gold borders and lettering.
Predictably, the cards have appeared on eBay for much more than they're actually worth. (You can get 10 of them for $199! With no fare included! What a deal!).
The popularity of the card should be a hint to Metro -- collectible and commemorative SmarTrip and fare cards are gold. Just like the 50 State Quarters Program generated almost $3 billion in revenue for the U.S. Mint, limited SmarTrip cards emblazoned with the faces of historical figures or commemorating important events are a potential source of revenue.
What kind of special SmarTrip would make you shell out an extra $5?
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After a first quick glance, I thought they put gold grillz on his teeth! yowzers-that would have been controversial!
Butterstick! He's already on the paper farecards, but I don't use those anymore.
The "Life and Times of Marion Barry” commemorative set
Or
The "Great Moments in Redskin History" (decade 2000 only).
how about a great jewish athletes commemorative card?
sandy koufax, hank greenberg....who else? or was this supposed to be a joke?
Mark Spitz and I'm out. There's a reason Brandeis is D3
Don't forget Rod Carew!
clever username :)
I'd pay extra for a "I'm not late; I ride the Red Line" card.
how about "ride metro: prevent suicide"?
too soon?
A list of hotline numbers:
Suicide prevention
Alcohol poisoning
Personal hygiene
Schizophrenia
Homelessness
It would be a public service to all of us.
It's more than a fare card - it's a magic card that brings hope and change!
And if you flip it over, rainbows, unicorns, and butterflies fly out of his a$$. It's the My Little Pony/goatse mashup you've been waiting your whole life for! And they're using SCIENCE.!
Monkeyrotica cards!! Fart-scented scratch and sniff...
A "Taxation without representation" card would be nice
like our own little license plate for those of us without cars.
Vanity cards! Yes!
I want a Blelvis card.
Billy of "Black Cat, Black Cat. Change for the homeless, Black Cat" fame needs his own SmarTrip card.
Boy, I sure missed those George W. Bush commemorative SmarTrip cards that came out in 2001. Am I the only one who finds this smarmy and inappropriate? I think Metro should stay out of the issuing "commemorative" anything bearing the likeness of a living politician, following the excellent precedents set by the Mint and the Post Office.
I agree with you philisophically -- but part of me thinks that whatever Metro wants to sell that will make them money is fine by me. It's not like your Smartrip is a vanity plate for all to see.
$50 Hard-core Smartrips FTW!
SmarTrip cards were only introduced to the Metro system in 1999, and initially didn't cover Metro buses or any of the outlying bus lines. Relatively few people were using them yet, and therefore very little money to be made by issuing a promotional card.
The first time WMATA ever issued a commemorative/promotional SmarTrip was for the opening of Nationals park last year. The Inaugural is just the next big event that offers an opportunity to cash in, and the enthusiasm over the event and the heavily Democratic tilt of the DC Metro area means that an Obama-themed card is likely to bring in a lot of resources.
True, it's possible that a future Republican inauguration would be seen as a less lucrative opportunity and thus not commemorated via SmarTrip, but perhaps you can hold off your alarmed cries of "Hypocrisy!" until Metro has actually had a chance to be hypocritical.
Actually, there was an earlier commerative SmarTrip card in 2001, celebrating Metro's 25th Anniversary. Mine just conked out about a month ago. Anyway, I'm sure that's why there wasn't one for W.
business decision, ledroitist. no one would have paid for a gwb card. or, they would have paid for it and promptly lit it on fire, or run it through an industrial-strength shredder. maybe!
STAND RIGHT WALK LEFT
id pay for one that came with an extra $5 on it. oh wait, that would be getting my money's worth!
but sadly i'll have to buy these for my parents, who are coming to town for the festivities.
Seriously, a rundown of Metro etiquette would be great, such as line policies for elevators (especially at Foggy Bottom and Dupont, where the escalators always seem to break down); if you're standing on the side of the train next to opening doors, get the hell out of the way so people can get on and off; keep your butt moving when you get to the top/bottom of an escalator; and, most importantly, echoing fartynonsense, STAND RIGHT, WALK LEFT!
But then, I guess the most serious offenders wouldn't have a SmarTrip in the first place...freaking tourists. Maybe they should post these in every train and station...
You're assuming these people know how to read in the first place. If they can't be bothered to read a sign on the escalator, what makes you think they'll pay any attention to a list on a SmartTrip card? What they need to do is hire porn stars to demonstrate proper subway etiquette while banging the $h!t out of eachother. This provides the dual advantage of scaring away the morbidly obese hookworm-and-bible-belt churchies while providing the rest of us with free entertainment.