WASHINGTON – Metro riders made more than 30,000 trips along the Silver Line Monday, the first weekday of commuter service for the new line.
Metro says that Monday’s ridership was about 60 percent of what daily ridership is expected to reach after a full year of service, when 25,000 passengers are forecast to use the line daily.
Metro’s Dan Stessel notes that Monday ridership is typical lower system wide and that the summer vacation season also decreases ridership.
In comparison, it would take more than 600 Metro buses to accommodate Monday’s 30,846 Silver Line trips, the equivalent of more than 15,000 passengers.
A standard Metrobus carries 45 passengers.
The Silver Line is the largest expansion of Metro in two decades and Phase I increased the system by 10 percent.
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