Metro News Release

For immediate release: July 17, 2008

Metrorail sets back-to-back high ridership days

830,470 riders used Metrorail on Wednesday, July 16

Metrorail ridership set back-to-back records this week. Hundreds of thousands of people helped Metro set the transit agency’s ninth highest ridership day in the history of the 32-year-old rail system on Wednesday, July 16, breaking the record set on Tuesday, July 15. Riders took 830,470 trips, which were 27,306 more trips than the comparable day last year. No special events contributed to Wednesday’s high numbers.

So far this month, Metrorail weekday ridership has topped 800,000 trips nine times. In June, ridership surpassed the 800,000 mark on 12 separate occasions, making it the highest ridership month in Metrorail history. About 26,000 more people rode Metrorail on an average weekday this June compared to last June.

Combined with Metrobus ridership, Metro provides more than 1.2 million trips on an average weekday.

Metrorail’s Top 10 Weekday Ridership Days
       Date            Ridership    Event
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     07-16-08     830,470      No event
10   07-15-08     830,307      No event

News release issued at 9:59 am, July 17, 2008.