DC Metro records 453,000 trips on Saturday
Metro records 453k trips Saturday for festivities around March on Washington 50th anniversary
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Metro says it recorded 453,000 trips on Saturday, when thousands of people flooded the National Mall for celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.
Spokesman Dan Stessel says typical Saturday ridership for this time of year is around 300,000. Saturday's celebrations included a march to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and a speech by Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of the slain civil rights leader.
Metro's highest Saturday ridership days include the 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear headlined by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, when more than 825,000 rides were recorded, and a 1991 Desert Storm rally when more than 786,000 rides were recorded. Saturdays in 2009 and 2010 when cherry blossom season coincided with sporting events also set Saturday records.
