A convergence of daily commuters plus cherry blossom-ogling tourists and hockey fans helped Metro bring in its second-highest number of weekday riders last week.
The transit agency said it logged 877,890 trips on Metrorail on Thursday.
Avoiding crowds at Metro
The Smithsonian Metrorail station may be especially crowded during the Cherry Blossom Festival, so Metro encourages riders to use the following stations instead:
» Union Station
» Archives-Navy Memorial Penn Quarter
» Federal Triangle
» L’Enfant Plaza
Cherry blossom viewers also can take the D.C. Circulator around the National Mall from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. The buses cost $1 per ride and are scheduled to run every 10 minutes.
The tally is surpassed only by President Obama’s inauguration last January. That record, though, will be hard to beat as the agency ran 17 hours straight of rush-hour service to accommodate the massive crowds, ferrying a total 1.12 million trips on the rail system. On Thursday, the region did not have such a historic occasion. But the sunny 74-degree highs brought out the crowds for the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s peak blooms. Spring break at many schools drew out visitors. And the Washington Capitals played the Atlanta Thrashers.
Midweek weekdays typically have the highest ridership as the subway system shuttles workers to their jobs. Mondays and Fridays clock in fewer trips because workers are more likely to take days off for three-day weekends. Metro usually runs fewer than 800,000 trips on weekdays, so it takes a special event to elevate the numbers.
Thursday’s spike provides a boost to the beleaguered transit agency, which has seen its ridership fall short of expectations since June, forcing an emergency fare surcharge to make up for the subsequent budget crisis.
But with the springtime crowds, Metro warns riders to expect delays and build extra time into their trips. The Cherry Blossom Festival is slated to end April 11.
