Citing a “want it now, need it now” attitude among its riders, the Maryland Transit Administration has accelerated its roll-out of an automated fare card system. It has now set an October date for launching the new smart card system, but it won’t be interchangeable yet with a similar technology in use on Washington’s subway and buses because the two agencies have been unable to negotiate a revenue-sharing agreement.

An MTA spokes person said the agency had planned to introduce the system in December or January, but moved up its target date due to customer demand. The contactless cards, which store credits for fares on an embedded microchip, will be accepted on MTA core services buses, light rail and the Metro subway.

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