Metro Sets All-Time Ridership Record
Metro announces some ridership landmark almost every weekday, but Friday turned out to be extraordinary: The 854,638 trips taken was the highest total ever in the 32-year history of the rail system. It was about 4,000 trips higher than the previous record holder, the date of Ronald Reagan's state funeral.
The transit authority says it got a boost from Nationals baseball and the Women of Faith Conference, but clearly there's something more going on here than a couple of special events. The ridership was 62,985 trips higher than the comparable day last year. And practically all of the top 10 ridership dates are now from 2008.
Hundreds of thousands of people helped Metro set a new record for the transit agency's highest ridership day in the history of the 32-year-old rail system on Friday, July 11.
Riders took 854,638 trips,which were 62,985 more trips than the comparable day last year. Practically all of the top 10 dates for ridership are now from 2008. And 20 of the top 25 have occurred since April.
Here's Metro's full top 10 list, with date, ridership and any special events that day.
1 07-11-08 854,638 Baseball/Women of Faith Conference
2 06-09-04 850,636 Reagan State Funeral
3 06-25-08 846,388 Smithsonian Folklife Festival/Baseball
4 07-10-08 844,530 Baseball
5 07-08-08 835,072 Baseball/Basketball
6 07-02-08 834,956 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
7 04-03-07 831,508 Cherry Blossoms/Baseball
8 06-24-08 831,464 Baseball/Basketball
9 06-20-08 829,998 Baseball/Basketball
10 04-24-08 828,973 Baseball/Basketball
By |
July 14, 2008; 3:50 PM ET
Metro
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Posted by: Er, uh ... | July 14, 2008 5:10 PM
"There was also the Daughters of the American Revolution convention.
Between that and the Women of "Faith," I have never seen that many Caucasian females in downtown DC in my life!"
Really? Even with the Pro-Choice and simultaneous Pro-Life rallies? lol
Posted by: fbutler1 | July 14, 2008 7:10 PM
People want transit. It's convenient and saves gas money.
Now we just have to get the knuckleheads in the Virginia Legislature, and one particular knucklehead in the U.S. Senate, to figure out that obvious fact... so that we might actually get a system that can accommodate all the people who want to ride it.
Posted by: dal20402 | July 15, 2008 12:51 AM
What is Metro doing with the extra fares its taking in? I know that money taken at the farecards goes to the operating budget, but can surpluses in the operating budget be transferred to the capital budget and help fill in that shortfill/start saving for expansion/new lines/new tunnel?
The region is going to need it, and soon.
Posted by: DC Centurion's Shield | July 15, 2008 12:11 PM
The handwriting is on the wall and everyone knows it...these jumps in fare riders is not going to decrease unless gas goes below $3.90 and that doesn't appear on the horizon....So....everyone connected with Metro,Fed. Govt., Congress..etc need to come up with along range plan to accomodate riders.
Someone better take a serious look at building another bridge fm Va into DC..it;s going to happen and the sooner the better...25-30yrs ago they killed the 3 Sisters Bridge plan but now somethning has to give...a bridge or tunnel needs to be put on the planning board NOW...NOT 5YRS FROM NOW.....
Posted by: Ron | July 15, 2008 3:11 PM
Move the offices to the suburbs and turn DC into a drainage pond.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2008 6:05 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
There was also the Daughters of the American Revolution convention.
Between that and the Women of "Faith," I have never seen that many Caucasian females in downtown DC in my life!