Fans Knock METRO Rider Record Out of the Park
Parade Service Smashes Boarding Record
Style Magazine Newswire | 11/10/2017, 10:24 a.m.
Astros fans celebrate on METRORail as they head to Friday's parade./METRO
Fans who chose METRORail to get to the Astros World Series Parade set a new record for single day ridership. The agency tallied 395,000 boardings on Friday, Nov. 3. METRORail's Red, Green and Purple Lines had a combined 125,000 boardings. That exceeds the previous record set in February the day before Super Bowl LI by 16,000. Meanwhile boardings on local bus and Park & Ride combined were 270,000.
"From METRORail to local bus to Park & Ride service, demand was up across the board. We are honored to have helped hundreds of thousands of fans join the party celebrating the Astros and their incredible World Series victory. I know the buses, trains and platforms were packed and we appreciate everyone's patience. I couldn't be more proud of our staff that worked incredibly hard to meet the demand and adapt to situations that presented significant challenges," said METRO President and CEO Tom Lambert.
METRO adjusted train routes, reworked detours and added trains to accommodate the record breaking ridership, parade route changes and congested downtown streets. The work to keep the region moving continued behind the scenes. On Friday, METRO customer service agents fielded more than 5,000 calls, nearly double a typical Friday, and the social media team handled nearly a thousand mentions and comments.
The demand demonstrates both the interest and need for continued investment in high-quality mass transit. The population of the greater Houston region is projected to increase from today's 6 million to 10 million over the next 20 years.
METRO's high-water truck used during Hurricane Harvey participates in parade.
