WASHINGTON — A day after Metro started selling inauguration-themed SmarTrip cards that don’t feature President-elect Donald Trump, the transit agency confirmed it’s designing special sleeves for the fare cards.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Thursday it’s “working closely” with Metro to design a sleeve for the inauguration-edition SmarTrip cards similar to sleeves that were produced for Pope Francis’ September 2015 visit to D.C., according to a tweet from the committee’s communications director, Boris Epshteyn.
https://twitter.com/BorisEP/status/811972866409381888
Metro spokesman Dan Stessel confirmed to WTOP the transit agency is working with Trump’s inaugural committee to design the protective sleeves, using the special pope covers as a template.
Those card sleeves featured a close-up of a smiling Pope Francis against a blue backdrop with the words “Pope Francis” and the dates of his visit.
The release Thursday of the 2017 inauguration SmarTrip cards, which display an image of the White House against a U.S. flag, caused an uproar on social media because it didn’t feature an image of Trump. Metro released special inauguration-edition cards in 2013 and 2009 featuring images of President Barack Obama.
Metro told WTOP it had reached out to Trump’s campaign about getting a photo but never heard back.
Metro began communicating with the Presidential Inaugural Committee late Thursday morning, Stessel told WTOP.
Special fare cards designed for both of President George W. Bush’s inaugurations did not feature his image. Fare cards designed for President Bill Clinton’s 1993 and 1997 inaugurations included his and Vice President Al Gore’s signatures.
