Metro broke its Fourth of July ridership record Saturday, running 631,206 trips on the rail system.
That number surpassed the previous record for the holiday, logged last year, by more than 32,000 trips, according to the transit agency.
The spike was surprising in some ways. Last year, ridership had been high all summer, breaking all sorts of records, as people flocked to the transit system to escape high gasoline prices. This year, however, fuel prices have tempered and overall Metro ridership has not grown as fast as the transit system expected.
Still, Metro was able to keep the Smithsonian station open this year, making it easier for riders to get to the National Mall to view the fireworks. The transit system also ran its regular routes, used more eight-car trains and offered free parking. Good weather also helped.
The Metro system’s ability to carry the typical July 4 holiday crush was in question after the June 22 Metrorail crash that killed nine and injured more than 70 people. Although the transit system is continuing to run limited service near the crash site as crews investigate what went wrong, Metro was able to run trains through the area Saturday to allow for continuous Red Line service.
Even with record-breaking crowds, the Fourth of July is typically not the busiest day on the system, as federal workers don’t commute to their jobs on the holiday.
The highest ridership of any date in Metro’s 33-year history occurred Jan. 20 when Metro ran 1.12 million trips on the rail system for Barack Obama’s inauguration. The next-highest ridership days are far lower, all hovering around 860,000 trips or fewer.
