Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL)– Metro usually doesn’t give refunds, but the transit agency is making an exception. Riders who swipe their Metro cards and then decide not to take the train because of delays or for any other reason will be refunded their money as long as they leave the station within 15 minutes of arriving. That 15 minutes is being called a grace period.

“The example I gave was, you know you go to Starbucks, you stand in line, the machine breaks down, you shouldn’t have to pay for your drink. You know, you get to leave without paying for your drink, and that’s the same concept I have here,” said Paul Wiedefeld, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Some customers decide to forego taking Metro when delays would make them late to work or other appointments.

The refund would be $2.15 if passengers entered the station during rush hour, and $1.75 during off-peak hours.

Thursday the transit agency’s Finance Committee approved a budget including the grace period refund. It will go into effect July 1 if the full board of directors votes to adopt the budget approved Thursday.
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