Over 20,000 cherry blossom-themed Smart Trip cards are being sold at seven Metrorail stations to commemorate Friday’s start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
The design on the cards features the Washington Monument, butterflies and multicolored cherry blossoms, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said this month. A pink bar at the bottom bears the festival’s name and the Metro logo.
The cards went on sale at 9 a.m. Friday via specially marked machines at the L’Enfant Plaza, Metro Center, Navy Yard-Ballpark, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Smithsonian, Union Station and Washington Dulles International Airport stations, WMATA said.
In addition to the special Smart Trip cards, three Metrobuses, a Metrorail train and a Metro access vehicle are sporting a cherry blossom-themed wrap for the duration of the blossom season.
Cherry blossom season, especially the dates around peak bloom for the Tidal Basin cherry trees, is a big revenue generator for Metro. On March 29, 2025, just a day after peak bloom, Metrorail had its second-busiest Saturday ever and its busiest day since 2019 with 710,000 riders.
This year, the National Park Service is projecting peak bloom to occur between March 29, a Sunday, and April 1, a Wednesday.
