Extraordinary transportation measures have been planned for this coming Tuesday’s Inauguration in Washington, DC, to facilitate the record crowd that is expected to pack the city of Washington for Barack Obama’s swearing-in and subsequent celebrations. Numerous bridges and streets will be closed to auto traffic. Metro, Metrobus, and transit agencies in Maryland and Virginia will be operating increased and addition service. Still with increased service, transit alone will not be able to accommodate everyone. Biking or walking will end up being the best mode for many. It will be interesting to watch the success of transportation / mobility planning while welcoming in our new president.
More details:
> WMATA Metro: Plans for Inauguration Weekend
> Washington Post Inauguration Watch: Transportation
> BeyondDC: [Inauguration Day bridge closings]
> Track Twenty-Nine: Metro Plans for 1.6 Million Riders
January 22, 2009 at 2:19 pm
It sounds like DC made a mistake in charging for subway service on Inauguration Day. Apparently, they use a barrier system and making a lot of newbies have to figure out what to do with their tickets really slowed stuff down. They could have made subway service free and then tried to recoup their money by selling their really cool Obama Inaguration Day transit passes for $5 or something.
January 22, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I heard that at some stations, transit officers began just letting people through without paying because the crowding was so intense. It would be hard to forgo the significant revenue from yesterday’s record ridership, but like you said, there could’ve been other opportunities to make up for that.