Smartrip for multiple people

Question

I know each person needs their own card, but the mobile app allows you to store multiple cards. Can I store different people's cards in one Smartrip account? For example, so I can keep my children's cards and mine all in my phone?

Answer

Yes — the SmarTrip mobile app does allow you to store and manage multiple cards on a single phone, and many parents use this feature to keep their children’s cards along with their own. However, each person still needs to use their own individual card when entering and exiting Metro stations or tapping onto buses.

You don’t need separate SmarTrip accounts for each card; instead, a single account can hold multiple cards, and you can switch between them in the app to add value, check balance, or manage passes.

Here’s how the setup and usage typically works:

You can add multiple cards to one SmarTrip account — physical cards, virtual cards, or a mix. Many families store all cards in one parent’s app for easy management.
Each rider must still tap their own card at fare gates — the system will not allow one card to be used for multiple people, and sharing a single card will cause the gates to reject the second tap.
For children under 18, Kids Ride Free does NOT apply to visitors — so children still use regular SmarTrip cards unless they have a qualifying local student ID.
You can load value or passes onto each card individually — simply select the desired card from the app and add money or passes as needed.

Most visitors find that storing everyone’s cards in one phone is helpful for:

Adding money quickly without using station machines
Checking balances after each day’s travel
Keeping children from losing their cards
Managing multiple virtual cards if you choose to digitize them

Just remember that even if the cards are on your phone, the kids will still need physical or virtual cards they can tap individually when entering and exiting. If you're using virtual cards (Apple Wallet or Google Wallet), each person would need their own smartphone to tap in; otherwise you can use physical cards for kids and keep the numbers stored in your app.

Overall, yes — storing multiple SmarTrip cards in one account is fully supported and commonly done by families visiting DC.