The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) provided more than 779,000 Metrorail rides on Jan. 21, the day of President Obama’s second inauguration. The system opened at 4 a.m. and remained in service until 2:30 a.m. Jan. 22; its usual closing time is midnight.

Ridership was 71 percent of that on Obama’s first inaugural day in 2009, when WMATA reported the highest single-day ridership in its history—more than 1.1 million rides. The agency noted that the day’s total will not be among its top 20 ridership days, adding that the fact that the inauguration fell on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday meant that fewer people were using Metro to get to work.

To help with the crowds and visitors unfamiliar with the system, the Metro Transit Police Department welcomed nearly  150 public transit police officers from 15 agencies across the U.S. A ceremony to deputize the guest officers was held the day before the inauguration in College Park, MD. The officers assisted WMATA police with crowd management and security-related incidents in the Metro system, primarily inside stations.

The police officers represented these agencies:

* Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Houston
* Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Philadelphia
* Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
* Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, Portland
* Metro Transit, Minneapolis/St. Paul
* Dallas Area Rapid Transit
* New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority
* Sacramento Regional Transit District
* San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
* Maryland Transit Administration
* New Jersey Transit Corporation
* Sound Transit, Seattle
* King County Metro Transit, Seattle
* Regional Transportation District, Denver
* Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

Photo courtesy of WMATA A steady stream of customers entered the Judiciary Square Metrorail station Jan. 21 following President Obama’s swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol. The National Building Museum is visible in the background.	Photo courtesy of WMATA Police officers from 15 U.S. public transit agencies pose after being deputized by Metro Transit Police to provide additional support during the inauguration.