Claiming Transit or Parking Benefits

On SmarTrip® cards

Note: SmartBenefits® do not load to your SmarTrip® card if you plan to use a van pool, MARC, VRE, D & B Bus/Quick's Commuter Service, National Coachworks/Martz, MetroAccess, CommuterDirect.com or Arlington County Commuter stores. See Van Pools & Transit Services for information on how to use your SmartBenefits® for these transit services.

To claim or access your transit or parking benefits, just use your SmarTrip® card as if you are paying your fare or parking fee and the appropriate amount will be deducted from your SmarTrip® card account's transit or parking purse. It's that simple, just tap your card to a Metrorail faregate, bus farebox or Metro parking target and you're on your way. At the beginning of each month, a new benefit amount will be available for you to use.

(Employees that use transit services that do not accept direct SmarTrip® card payments, please see 'Allocate Your Benefit to Your Transit Provider' to establish a Passenger Allocation Account)

Transit funds will not be transferrable from one purse to another. Transit benefits will not pay for parking and parking benefits will not pay for transit. Nor will funds be able to transfer the personal stored value purse. The personal stored value purse allows you to load additional amounts to cover either transit or parking. Transit and parking payments will be deducted from your transit and parking benefits purses first. If and when those funds are exhausted, payment will be deducted from the stored value purse.

Your employer will determine what happens to any unused benefits. They may either be credited back to your employer's SmartBenefits account or rolled over to your transit or parking benefits accounts for future use.

For more information, please read our brochure on how to claim SmartBenefits .

Employees get the convenience and security of using SmarTrip® cards. With a registered SmarTrip® card, there are no more worries about demagnetized and damaged paper cards or lost cards. A lost SmarTrip® card can be replaced, with its remaining value, at the time it was reported lost for a $5 replacement fee. Call 1-888-SMARTRIP (1-888-762-7874) to report a lost card. When employees replace a lost SmarTrip card, they must provide their new registered SmarTrip® card serial number to their employer for a benefit reassignment.