How Well Did Metro Do Getting You to Ballpark?

WASHINGTON -- Metro wants to make sure it continues to "bat a 1.000" getting fans to and from the new ballpark in Southeast, so the transit agency plans to tweak its operations.

"We thought we did a pretty good job of moving people to and from the game. But we looked at some smaller things that could make the trip go even smoother," says Metro spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.

More than 21,000 Nationals fans passed through the newly expanded Navy Yard Metro Station on the Green Line to get to the home opener Sunday night. That's more than half the number of people who actually attended the game.

Metro conducted a broad review of its weekend performance. Because crowds at the station were so large, Farbstein says some riders were herded into places they shouldn't have been.

"People without SmarTrip Cards found themselves standing in front of SmarTrip express-only fare gates. They were out of luck and they had to fight through crowds to get to a different fare gate," she says.

Metro recommends baseball fans buy a SmarTrip card to make sure they don't get stuck in a similar situation.

"We definitely learned the SmarTrip lanes can process people a lot faster," says Farbstein.

Another issue that surfaced dealt with what fans brought into the Navy Yard station after the game.

"We had some people who made it into the station with their drink and with a cigarette. We talked about the need to get some permanent trash cans before people moved through the fare gates."

The review also showed that riders need to do a better job spreading out across the entire platform at the Navy Yard station, so that every rail car gets filled. Some trains were being sent on their way Sunday night that weren't filled to capacity.

There were some choke points within the system, where riders felt the crunch. The Gallery Place and L'Enfant Plaza Stations, which are major transfer points to the Green Line, saw huge crowds.

"We are making sure we have additional staffing at those locations."

The next big ballpark test for Metro comes Monday, when the Nationals begin their first homestand of the season. It also will be the first time rush hour riders and fans are riding the rails at the same time.

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