Metro News Release
For immediate release: April 5, 2010
Metrorail records 2nd highest ridership day on Friday, April 2
Extremely crowded conditions on Metrorail anticipated throughout the remainder of Cherry Blossom events and for upcoming baseball games
Hundreds of thousands of people helped Metro set the transit agency’s second highest weekday ridership day in the history of the 34-year-old rail system on Friday, April 2, when 891,240 trips were recorded on the Metrorail system. On Saturday, April 3, Metrorail recorded its fourth highest Saturday ridership day when 674,173 trips were recorded.
Friday and Saturday’s high ridership were attributed to the Cherry Blossom Festival, and weekend sports events involving the Washington Wizards, Washington Nationals and the DC United.
With the Cherry Blossom Festival in full swing and temperatures in the 70s, Metro officials remind everyone that crowds will continue to be heavy, so riders should build extra time into their travel plans due to the larger than usual number of people using Metrorail and Metrobus. It may be difficult to board and exit crowded trains at the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines. Metro encourages customers to also use the Union Station, Archives-Navy Mem’l Penn Quarter, Federal Triangle and L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail stations.
Today, at 1:05 p.m., the Washington Nationals will host their sold-out regular season home opener at Nationals Park. To accommodate the crowds, Metrorail will operate some extra trains on the Green Line; however, trains are expected to be extremely crowded and Metro anticipates large crowds throughout the day at the Navy Yard, L’Enfant Plaza and Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail stations.
Combined with Metrobus ridership, Metro provides more than 1.2 million trips on an average weekday.
Metrorail’s Top 5 Weekday Ridership Days
Date Ridership Event
1 01-20-09 1,120,000 Obama Inaugural
2 04-02-10 891,240 Cherry Blossoms/basketball
3 04-01-10 877,890 Cherry Blossoms/hockey
4 01-19-09 866,681 Obama Inaugural Activities
5 07-11-08 854,638 Baseball/Women of Faith
Metrorail’s Top 5 Saturday Ridership Days
Date Ridership Event
1 06-08-91 786,358 Desert Storm
2 10-04-97 725,909 Promise Keepers
3 04-04-09 713,148 Cherry Blossoms/DC United/Wizards/Baseball
4 04-03-10 674,173 Cherry Blossoms/DC United/Baseball
4 07-04-09 631,206 Fourth of July Celebration
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News release issued at 10:14 am, April 5, 2010.