Metro Update

Two things: Those annoying two-car trains could be officially history, and Metro is running short of SmarTrip cards:

WASHINGTON (AP) - SmarTrip cards are selling like hot cakes - and that could be a problem if you're looking to buy one.

With the cards now required to pay for parking at Metro lots, more people than ever are buying them, including tourists, who, in the past, wouldn't have bothered.

All that demand has created a shortage, and Metro expects to run out of SmarTrip cards before its lone supplier delivers more. So for now, the transit agency is stopping online sales of the cards, and ending promotions aimed at people who don't use the garages.

Metro says if they do run out, and you need to get out of the garage, buy a paper farecard for the amount of the parking fee and give it to the lot attendant.

10,000 SmarTrip cards are expected to arrive late this month, with another 62,000 by mid-August.

> WTOP: "Shortage of SmarTrip Cards Could Create Problem for Metro Riders"