Originally Posted by
Tafische
I have been researching, but help me understand this a little better. We will be in DC for 5 days and I think the short pass would work 4 of us and regular cards for the 2 seniors. Nearly all of our trips will to/from King St to major sites which are most all under $3.50. I don't see a way online to get just the $2 card and pass mailed to us ahead of time, but as I understand it I can get just the $2 card at the Transit Shop near our hotel and then add the 7 day online (have to go there anyway to get 2 senior cards).
So my question is there a minimum amount I can put on each card for overages? We are going to take a few trips that are like $3.55. My guess is each person will have like .20 cents of overage for the week. If I have to put a bunch of credit on each card the short pass starts to not make as much sense.
Minimum add using cash/coins is 5 cents -- it wouldn't surprise me if it's a little higher by credit, but I've never tried to add anything below $5 with a credit card.
The catch is that there is a $10 maximum change return from any fare vending machine, and you cannot switch SmarTrip cards before getting your change. So don't put a $20 into the machine and expect to load your 6 cards that way, because you will wind up with $10 stuck on the first card and a fist full of $1 coins in change. In your situation, I'd take a bunch of $1s and put $1 on each card.
You can add the weekly passes to your SmarTrip cards at a vending machine at King Street before your first ride; it's not necessary to do that online or go through the online registration processes. Ask about that at the Transit Shop; they may be able to do the whole process there too.
Enjoy your trip!