400K Churn Through DC Transit

Passengers swarmed Washington’s subway and bus system today, with Metro reporting more than 409,000 entries into the system as of 9am, pushing the public transit system to its limits, the Washington Post reports. At one point, service on the Red Line was disrupted when a 68-year-old woman fell to the tracks and had to be treated for arm injuries.

Delays were mounting in the streets as well, as police made last-minute road closure decisions and shifted routes, struggling to keep up with charter bus traffic. More than 500,000 had massed on the Mall by 9am, meaning the crowd was growing faster than anticipated, the fire chief said. (More Washington, DC stories.)