Explain DC transfer cards

In the DC area the use of paper transfers have been discontinued. The purpose is to encourage the public to purchase metro cards. These metro cards although good is another tracking system. For example, if you use this card to enter the gate and later loose it, when you call customer service, there is a record of where the card was last used. Each of these cards has to be registered by the owner and a specific registration number is assigned. I do understand the frustration, however, this is the society in which we live. explain