Metro sees a spike in rides amidst return to work orders

Metrorail has seen some of its busiest days since the beginning of the pandemic in the last week of February, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) communications said. 

This comes one month after President Donald Trump issued a memorandum that required federal employees across the country to terminate remote-work arrangements and return to in-person work.

“Federal return to office is only one component,” said Jordan Pascale, Metro’s media relations manager. “Many industries have implemented return to work policies and discretionary travel (like tourists visiting cherry blossoms) will also continue to rise as the weather gets warmer.”

The week of Feb. 25 saw the third, fourth and seventh highest ridership days since the beginning of the pandemic. Tuesday, Feb. 26 had the highest morning rush hour in the past five years with 170,000 rail trips before 9:30 a.m, said Whitney Nichels, Metro’s vice president of communications. 

Ridership has been steadily increasing for almost four years, a trend that is expected to continue, Pascale said. It has still not reached pre-pandemic levels, where the average ridership in 2019 was about 625,000 trips and the average ridership in 2025 is about 381,000 trips. 

This increase could be beneficial for the Metro, which derives part of its funding from rider revenue. Funding also comes from federal grants and contributions from Maryland, D.C and Virginia to make up any gaps in the budget. A potential freeze in federal funding could have a detrimental impact on the safety of services, workers and riders, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 spokesperson Benjamin Lynn said. 

The Metro’s Board of Directors is considering service increases as a part of its budgetary process that would be implemented in July if approved, Pascale said. Increased hours of operation on weekends and adjusting lines for peak service are some of the proposed changes. 

Despite this recent spike, Metro said its workers remain prepared to provide its services to the best of its ability. 

“Whether the bus has five people on it, or 50 whether a rail car has, you know, 10 people on it or 100, our members are there to help transport and move people from point A to point B,” Lynn said.