The DC Metro: Our "limousine" to the inaugural events (Orange Line). Our metro passes arrived in the mail on Wednesday, 1/14/09.
Thank heavens we were at the subway station by 3AM on Inauguration Day, as some lots filled before 5:30AM!
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"Metro saw unprecedented crowds throughout Inauguration Day. Several parking lots started filling at end-of-the-line stations before 5:30 a.m. At the request of local law enforcement, Metro let motorists through some lots without paying after lines of vehicles began to back up on local roads.
Delays were caused by riders blocking doors and causing breakdowns, and a woman fell onto the tracks at Gallery-Place Chinatown Metrorail station, which disrupted service at the station and Metro Center for about 45 minutes. Federal Triangle Metrorail station also was closed for four-and-a-half hours unexpectedly due to local law enforcement’s concerns about crowding at the National Mall. However, Metro officials say the biggest reason for delays was the sheer volume of people. Police periodically held people from entering extremely crowded stations until crowds on the station platforms eased.
With hundreds of thousands of people in town for the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, Metrorail set a new record for the transit agency’s highest ridership on Tuesday, Jan. 20, when rail rides alone accounted for 1,120,000 trips, surpassing the previous Metrorail high of 866,681 trips, which occurred the previous day, on Monday, Jan. 19.
Between Sunday, Jan. 18, and Tuesday, Jan. 20, Metro ran 60 hours of rail service out of 72 hours during those days. Metro we set three rail ridership records--a Sunday record and back-to-back weekday records. Between Sunday and Tuesday Metrorail carried an estimated 2.6 million trips on rail."
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Commemorative Metro Guide:
http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/metro_events/inauguration_walking_map.pdf
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