Metro News Release
For immediate release: January 20, 2009
Metrorail sets new record for highest ridership day of all time
866,681 riders used Metrorail on Monday, January 19
Hundreds of thousands of people in town for the Inauguration of Barack Obama helped Metro set a new record for the transit agency’s highest ridership on Monday, January 19. Riders took 866,681trips on Monday, which also was the federal Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2008, Metrorail provided 257,913 trips. An influx of people attending Inaugural and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events contributed to yesterday’s record ridership.
Thirteen of Metrorail’s top 20 highest weekday ridership days have occurred in the summer of 2008. Combined with Metrobus ridership, Metro provides more than 1.2 million trips on an average weekday.
Metrorail’s Top 20 Weekday Ridership Days
Date Ridership Event
1 01-19-09 866,681 Obama inaugural events
2 07-11-08 854,638 Baseball/Women of Faith Conference
3 06-09-04 850,636 Reagan State Funeral
4 06-25-08 846,388 Smithsonian Folklife Festival/Baseball
5 07-10-08 844,530 Baseball
6 07-08-08 835,072 Baseball/Basketball
7 07-02-08 834,956 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
8 04-03-07 831,508 Cherry Blossoms/Baseball
9 06-24-08 831,464 Baseball/Basketball
10 06-20-08 829,998 Baseball/Basketball
11 04-24-08 828,973 Baseball/Basketball
12 04-17-08 828,418 Pope Visit/Soccer
13 04-11-08 828,132 Baseball/Cherry Blossoms
14 06-27-08 825,862 Smithsonian Folklife Festival/Baseball
15 06-18-08 823,516 No Event
16 07-01-08 822,931 No Event
17 04-10-06 821,283 Immigrant Rights Rally
18 06-19-08 819,979 No Event
19 06-26-08 819,722 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
20 06-05-08 819,687 Baseball
News release issued at 11:00 am, January 20, 2009.