208 Million Riders Make Year a Record

A record number of customers rode Metrorail in the fiscal year that ended in June, marking the second time in the system's 31-year history that more than 200 million people went through the fare gates, officials said yesterday.

It was the 11th consecutive year that ridership on the rail system increased. Also, more people rode the subway during June than during any other month in Metro's history. Officials attribute the increase to good weather, Washington Nationals baseball games and high gas prices.

"We are glad to see more and more people choosing Metro," Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. said in a statement.

Metro's highest ridership months are usually April, when tourists flock to Washington to see the cherry blossoms, and June and July.

For fiscal 2007, which ended June 30, almost 208 million customers rode Metrorail, a 1.1 percent increase -- or 2 million more riders than in fiscal 2006. The average weekday ridership for fiscal 2007 was 702,171, the first time the average weekday ridership topped 700,000.