Metro News Release
For immediate release: October 31, 2010
Metro sets new record for highest Saturday Metrorail ridership
Preliminary count estimates 825,437 Metrorail trips taken on Saturday, October 30
Metro set a new record for highest Saturday Metrorail ridership on Saturday, October 30. Officials estimate 825,437 Metrorail trips were taken, with many people traveling to the National Mall for the “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.”
In anticipation of the crowds, Metro added extra trains, and additional Metro personnel were on hand to assist customers at the fare gates and with purchasing fare cards. But because of the record setting ridership, Metro experienced unprecedented crowds throughout the day with long lines at many end-of-the-line stations early in the day as customers waited to enter the system.
Average Saturday Metrorail ridership is typically about 350,000. Yesterday’s record ridership surpassed the 1991 Desert Storm rally, which was held on June 8, 1991 and held the top spot for 19 years.
Combined with Metrobus ridership, Metro provides more than 1.2 million trips on an average weekday.
Metrorail’s Top Five Saturday Ridership Days
| Date | Ridership | Event | |
1 |
10/30/10 | 825,437 | Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear |
2 |
06/08/91 | 786,358 | Desert Storm |
3 |
10/04/97 | 725,909 | Promise Keepers |
4 |
04/04/09 | 713,148 | Cherry Blossoms/Baseball/Basketball/Soccer |
5 |
04/03/10 | 674,173 | Cherry Blossoms/Baseball/Soccer |
News release issued at 3:51 pm, October 31, 2010.