Nats Magnets Could Zap Your Metro Cards

WASHINGTON -- An upcoming promotion by the Washington Nationals could wreak havoc with Metro riders and their farecards.

Next Thursday, the team will give away season schedule magnets, along with "Curly W" car magnets, to the first 20,000 fans in the ballpark.

The problem: Magnets and Metro farecards don't mix. If a magnet gets too close to a paper farecard, it can demagnetize it, leaving it useless.

"So to prevent that from happening, please keep the paper farecard and the magnet separate. Put them in two separate pockets," Metro spokesperson Candace Smith tells WTOP.

Better yet, she says buy a more-durable, plastic SmarTrip card since magnets do not affect those.

"Magnets won't demagnetize the SmarTrip cards because there's a chip technology in the SmarTrip card, but the paper farecards have a magnetic strip."

The potential magnet mix-up has concerned Metro so much, the agency will put up a special banner in the Navy Yard Station before the game next Thursday that reads, "Your farecard and magnets don't mix."

If a paper farecard is zapped, a rider will have to take it to a Metro sales office to get it fixed or get another one. Metro has sales offices at the Pentagon and at Metro Center. Smith says you also can take your card to Metro headquarters in Chinatown where you'll receive another card.

Metro has been touted as the best way to get to the new Nats stadium. More than 21,000 fans passed through the newly expanded Navy Yard Metro Station near the ballpark for the home opener Sunday Night.

(Copyright 2008 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)