Jay Wescott

About an hour ago, Metro announced that the new morning peak-of-the-peak pricing will go into effect on Aug. 29. But the bigger news was buried in the press release: Going forward, SmarTrip card users will need to have the full fare on their cards in order to exit through the fare gates. They used to be able to exit with insufficient funds and add value later.

We just asked Metro about the change in policy. Angela Gates, from the press office, was sympathetic to the startled masses. She said the new rules are mostly about uniformity: Folks who use paper fare cards need to have the full fare, so SmarTrip card users should, too.

We pointed out that the great benefit of a SmarTrip card is not having to worry about cash -- but now, if you're stuck without sufficient funds inside the gates, it's only cash that can bail out you and your SmarTrip card. "I understand, it's a customer convenience," Gates said. "People are used to being able to exit without that negative balance. So we understand it's going to take a little time for people to change that habit. But it is a necessary step to make sure we have the same rules applying to paper and SmarTrip."

Gates also said the move was about making sure Metro was collecting the revenue it was due. We asked if there had been a problem with Metro never recovering negative fares from travelers; she said she'd have to look into that.

Gates added that the SmarTrip change does come with a bonus: The cost of a card will be dropped from $5 to $2.50 sometime later this fall.