Roads, Trains Can't Handle Jan. 20 Droves

Neighborhood parking rules and meter enforcement in the District will be suspended Saturday through Inauguration Day, but they will be affected by street closures, which won't be announced until late this month or the first week in January. Parking garages outside the security cordon will be open at the discretion of their operators, Tangherlini said.

Bicycles will not be allowed within the still-to-be determined security cordon, said Eric Gilliland, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. His organization is working with security and transportation organizers to set up bicycle valet parking in three areas just outside the cordon, possibly near the Jefferson Memorial, at Connecticut and K streets and near the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station. Metro officials had not decided whether to allow bikes on trains Jan. 20.

After the morning crush, Metro is expecting rushes after the noon swearing-in ceremony and after the parade, about 6 p.m.

The most the subway system can carry is about 120,000 people per hour, officials say. And that doesn't factor in the inevitable delays caused by out-of-towners confused about how to use the system. That number also assumes "nobody gets sick, no one jams the door and all the people cooperate," Metro Board Member Peter Benjamin said. "What do you think the odds are for that to happen if we get 4 million people?"

Glitches can be caused by a number of other factors. Metro has just two tracks, like a two-lane highway. When trains are taken out of service, delays can be lengthy. Doors often malfunction because passengers mistakenly think they are like elevator doors and try to hold them open. And if a passenger becomes sick and can't move, emergency personnel must be called and passengers have to get off the train.

Philadelphia's main transit agency was overwhelmed by crowds during a parade and celebration Oct. 31, after the Phillies won the World Series, and Metro is taking notes. The parade was scheduled for noon downtown, followed by 3 p.m. events at sports complexes several miles away.

By 7:30 a.m. that day, regional rail trains heading downtown were at capacity, according to a report by transit officials. At 8:30 a.m., extra trains were put into operation, and officials warned of one-hour delays. By 9:30, riders were told that trains would not stop at some stations and to use buses. By noon, media outlets were telling passengers that if they weren't already in Center City, they should stay home and watch the parade on television.

Philadelphia officials suspended all inbound regional rail service as of 1 p.m. to provide trains for post-parade crowds, and they cut service to some areas.

Hundreds of thousands of people were stranded, including many parents who had taken their children out of school for the occasion.

The city's transit agency handled one-third more than its daily capacity of 1 million trips, spokesman Richard Maloney said, "but we still disappointed hundreds of thousands of people who were hot and angry. It was like going to the department store, and Santa wasn't there."

Staff writers Mary Beth Sheridan and Nikita Stewart and researchers Meg Smith and Julie Tate contributed to this report.