DC Metro preps for Inauguration Day

There’s still more than 100 days until the next president is sworn in, but Washington’s Metrorail system is already planning for how it will handle massive crowds during the presidential inauguration next year.

{mosads}Metro officials are seeking approval from the Board of Directors to open the subway an hour earlier, beginning at 4 a.m., and to implement peak fares from then until 9 p.m.

Officials also want to charge normal rider rates at all parking facilities on Inauguration Day, since some lots charger a higher, “non-rider” parking fee.

A special commemorative SmarTrip card would be sold in advance for $10 under the proposal, while any extra cards could be sold the day of the inauguration for $14.50. The proposal wants to waive the $2 new card fee for commemorative one-day rail passes on Inauguration Day.

“While many details about Inauguration Week activities, including the Swearing-In and Inaugural Parade, will not be decided until after the Presidential Election on November 8, 2016, it is important that Metro take action now to finalize our service and fare plans and provide advance notice to organizers,” said the proposal, which was released Tuesday.

Metro has been undergoing a massive repair project, known as “SafeTrack”, that has involved partial shutdowns, continuous single-tracking and reduced late-night and weekend service.

Officials said they intend to suspend SafeTrack during the entire week of the inauguration, from Jan. 14-22.

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has been generally unwilling to alter the SafeTrack schedule for special events like Major League Baseball playoff games. But the Inauguration has long been seen as the exception and was incorporated into the project’s initial plans.

The proposal noted that the 2009 inauguration of President Obama saw historic crowds for the first African-American president, with an estimated 1.8 million people gathering on the National Mall and 1.5 million passengers traveling on the Metro.

In 2013, Metrorail moved more than 730,000 riders on Inauguration Day and spent over $2 million on extra bus and rail operations, marketing and signage, additional customer service staff and additional security expenses – $700,000 of which it was reimbursed for.

Massive crowds are once again expected to descend on the region in 2017. There could be an added draw if Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is elected, becoming the country’s first woman president.

The year’s proposal said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has agreed to provide bomb-sniffing dog teams. Officials also said that the Metro Transit Police Department is collaborating with law enforcement agencies to come up with an overall security strategy.

“Over the next several weeks, more detailed plans will be identified and communicated to our riders and employees regarding event security measures,” the proposal said. “Some tactics, such as the creation of a hardened security perimeter surrounding the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the Inaugural Parade Route, will necessitate the closing of rail stations within the perimeter for certain events.”