If Baltimore-area residents are willing to fight the traffic early, they now can park at all but one Metro station on Inauguration Day, D.C. Metro officials said.
The transit agency originally had said it was closing the Greenbelt and Morgan Boulevard stations to accommodate charter buses, and limited parking was planned at the Shady Grove station.
» Metro has 29 lots and 22 garages and plans to charge each automobile $4 cash, even though its lots typically cost as much as $4.75. Only the Minnesota Avenue station parking lot, which has 333 spaces, will be closed to the public for Metro employees.
» Drivers must pay cash as they enter the parking lots and garages, instead of using SmarTrip cards when they exit.
» Cars parked overnight the day before Inauguration Day will be towed. The lots will open at 3:30 a.m., before the 4 a.m. start of rail service.
» No vehicles with more than 15 passengers will be allowed to drop off people at Metrorail stations for “safety reasons.”
Sources: D.C. Metro, District Department of Transportation
But Metro officials said they have received parking requests from 35 charter buses, after they initially had set aside parking for 1,100 buses.
Because of the limited demand, Metro now is offering nearly 60,000 parking spaces for cars on the historic Jan. 20 swearing-in of Barack Obama as president.
“We’re just a small part of the parking to be available for charter buses,” Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates said.
“And we really wanted to make as many spaces available to motorists and local residents.”
But the agency’s move came as news to some in the bus industry.
“I’m surprised to hear that. We’re hearing several thousand buses are headed to the city. And I’m not sure where they are going to park,” said Victor Parra, chief executive officer of the United Motorcoach Association in Alexandria, Va.
“Maybe Metro isn’t communicating what’s available. Why would they do that?”
A District transportation spokesman said the city hasn’t changed its expectations and is still planning on finding parking for 10,000 charter buses.
“We have seen a steady stream of buses registering,” said John Lisle, District Department of Transportation spokesman.
“What we’re focused on is finding parking in the city for as many buses as we can.”
Eron Shosteck, a senior vice president with the American Bus Association, said the District now was offering some spaces closer to the city than Metro’s more suburban lots. Those may be more appealing to charter buses.
