Metro preps to set ridership record for inauguration

WASHINGTON -- If you plan on using Metro on Inauguration Day, plan on packed railcars, packed buses and extraordinarily long lines.

Metro General Manager John Catoe on Thursday outlined the agency's plans for the Jan. 20 swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama. He says Metro could surpass previous ridership records.

"We will see something that we have never seen before as far as ridership," Catoe says. "Crowds are expected to be absolutely enormous."

To handle the crowds, Metro will operate on a rush-hour schedule from 4 a.m. until 7 p.m. For security reasons, the Archives-Navy Memorial station will be closed, as will the National Mall entrance of the Smithsonian station.

While figures on the exact size of the crowd for the inauguration of do vary, Metro is bracing for what could be the busiest day ever on the rail system.

The current top ridership day came July 11, 2008, when more than 854,000 people rode the rails. Ironically, there were no major events on that day. A baseball game, a conference and high gas prices were cited as the reasons for the record crowd. The previous number one all-time high occurred on the day of President Ronald Reagan's funeral.

Estimates on the crowds for the upcoming inauguration have ranged between 1 million and 5 million people.

Those who are coming from out of town are being encouraged to purchase one-day rail passes in bulk, since huge lines will make it difficult to put additional fare on cards at Metro farecard machines.

"No tourist will be left behind," Catoe says.

Metro's Board does have concerns about some of the issues that could occur on Inauguration Day. For example, the banning of bicycles on trains, portable bathroom locations and the availability of a special commemorative Smartrip card featuring an image of Obama.

Currently, only 35,000 of those Smartrip cards are on order. Metro staff says they will immediately begin making calls to see if they can order more.

(Copyright 2008 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)