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Record numbers rode D.C.-area Metro on July Fourth
Shoutout to the guy wearing the red and white Vans.
The 7 [Newsletter]
Record numbers rode D.C.-area Metro on July Fourth
The region’s transit agency recorded more than 866,000 trips on rail and bus.
July 6, 2026 at 4:09 p.m. EDT Today at 4:09 p.m. EDT
People wait to ride the Metro at the L’Enfant Plaza station July 4. (Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post)
By Liam Scott
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/liam-scott/
A record number of people used public transit on Independence Day, according to the Washington region’s public transit agency. ... The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said Monday that it recorded more than 866,000 trips on Metrorail and Metrobus on July 4 and into the early hours of July 5, setting a new Independence Day record for the agency. The figures cover trips in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
“We loved seeing so many of you riding with us to the National Mall and celebrations throughout the region,” the agency said. On social media, photos and videos circulated of packed Metro stations as crowds traveled to and from the Mall’s fireworks display. ... Most of the trips — 667,652, according to preliminary data — were on Metrorail, WMATA said. More than 100,000 of those came after midnight, according to WMATA’s general manager, Randy Clarke.
This year’s rail figures represent a nearly 6 percent increase from the previous Independence Day record, set in 2009 with 631,206 trips, according to WMATA. ... That’s followed by 598,898 rail trips for the Fourth in 2008, 593,419 in 1997 and 592,588 in 2014.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said that the crowd at 7 p.m. on the Mall numbered 422,000 and that at least 150,000 returned after evacuating due to weather. Freedom 250 and the National Park Service did not immediately confirm those figures.
{snip}
By Liam Scott
Liam Scott is a reporter on the Metro desk covering transportation. A two-time Livingston Award finalist, he previously helped write The Post's newsletter on press freedom issues.follow on X liamjscott
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/liam-scott/
Record numbers rode D.C.-area Metro on July Fourth
The region’s transit agency recorded more than 866,000 trips on rail and bus.
July 6, 2026 at 4:09 p.m. EDT Today at 4:09 p.m. EDT
People wait to ride the Metro at the L’Enfant Plaza station July 4. (Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post)
By Liam Scott
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/liam-scott/
A record number of people used public transit on Independence Day, according to the Washington region’s public transit agency. ... The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said Monday that it recorded more than 866,000 trips on Metrorail and Metrobus on July 4 and into the early hours of July 5, setting a new Independence Day record for the agency. The figures cover trips in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
“We loved seeing so many of you riding with us to the National Mall and celebrations throughout the region,” the agency said. On social media, photos and videos circulated of packed Metro stations as crowds traveled to and from the Mall’s fireworks display. ... Most of the trips — 667,652, according to preliminary data — were on Metrorail, WMATA said. More than 100,000 of those came after midnight, according to WMATA’s general manager, Randy Clarke.
This year’s rail figures represent a nearly 6 percent increase from the previous Independence Day record, set in 2009 with 631,206 trips, according to WMATA. ... That’s followed by 598,898 rail trips for the Fourth in 2008, 593,419 in 1997 and 592,588 in 2014.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said that the crowd at 7 p.m. on the Mall numbered 422,000 and that at least 150,000 returned after evacuating due to weather. Freedom 250 and the National Park Service did not immediately confirm those figures.
{snip}
By Liam Scott
Liam Scott is a reporter on the Metro desk covering transportation. A two-time Livingston Award finalist, he previously helped write The Post's newsletter on press freedom issues.follow on X liamjscott
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/liam-scott/