D.C.'s cherry blossom week spurs rail ridership highs for WMATA

The final weekend of this year's cherry blossom festival in Washington, D.C., helped boost Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) rail ridership to figures not attained in years.

On April 12, riders took 638,474 trips on the Metrorail system, making it the highest Saturday ridership since Oct. 30, 2010, WMATA officials said in a press release. The ridership was nearly double that of an average Saturday.

On April 13, ridership reached 405,154 trips — 83 percent higher than average — making it the busiest Sunday on Metrorail since July 4, 2010, agency officials said.