In June of next year, Metro will test off-board SmarTrip loading stations to reduce the amount of on-board cash adding that plagues certain routes.

According to PlanItMetro, “on-board load transaction can take between five and 30 seconds and, on average, one out of every 14 trips on Metrobus involves a small value load. On some routes it’s as frequent as one out of every seven.”

To help alleviate this issue, Metro will test out SmarTrip Recharge Stations along 16th Street NW (the S route) in June of 2014. “The bus stops were selected based on the on-time performance of the Metrobus routes and the frequency of small-value, on-board SmarTrip loading along the corridor,” according to PlanIt. The machines will accept cash or credit/debit cards, and will be solar-powered and wireless.

Via PlanItMetro.