Metro’s lone sales office for conducing various in-person transactions is closing at the end of the month, the latest casualty of the transit industry’s move toward digital services amid a trend accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Metro Center office is the last of its kind after a years-long decline in the number of physical locations, although its services will still be available elsewhere. The office will close June 30.purchases will exist at Metro stations and commuter stores, the closureis expected to reduce Metro’s expenses at a time when the transit agency is struggling to return to pre-pandemic ridership, a decline that has meant a significant loss in fare revenue.
replace lost cards, although most customers use it to purchase reduced-fare passes, such as those for seniors and people with disabilities. Services offered through the office will be available through other channels, such as commuter stores, fare-vending machines at stations, online or at Metro’s new Transit Accessibility Center.and transfer balances during her lunch break. She said sheFraze, who said she considers herself “fairly tech-savvy,” said she plans to stick with Metro’s physical ticketing system. But after trying to transfer balances to her new SmarTrip card at the sales office, she was eventually told she needed to complete the transaction online.