Photo by sbma44.

Metro’s plan to push more people into using SmarTrip cards by imposing a $1 surcharge on paper farecards is working, reports the Examiner:

SmarTrip card purchases increased 27 percent in the first three months after the surcharge took effect on July 1, while paper farecard sales dropped 17 percent, Metro General Manager Richard Sarles told the board of directors Thursday.

That means that the reusable plastic farecards are now used for 84 percent of all rail trips, added Metro spokesman Dan Stessel, up from 78 percent a year ago.

Meanwhile on the bus system, 90 percent of all transactions are made with the plastic cards, up from 87 percent last year, he said.

In the long term, Metro says that increased use of the SmarTrip card saves the transit agency money.

Much like the paper transfers we used to get on Metrobuses—I bet some of the city’s newer residents never even had the pleasure of getting one of those—we may eventually see the day that paper farecards aren’t even offered anymore.