Will you be commuting to work or traveling to the Inauguration on January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day?
Major disruptions to regular travel systems are expected throughout the region - including Montgomery County!
Do you and your employees need a game plan? Go here.
Are you attending the Presidential Inauguration? Go here.
Montgomery County Commuter Services can help you with alternatives to enable your business to stay operational. Review this website or contact us to get information on:
Revised Ride On, Metrorail, Metrobus, and other transit schedules
Special passes & fares for transit
Changes to Metro parking lot availability and charges
Other Better Ways to Work on Inauguration Day!
Check back often here & on our partner links to get the latest info!
Inauguration Day would be a great day to try one of these alternatives:
Telework
Free your employees from the gridlock expected.
Empower employees to work from home & make better use of their time.
Inauguration Day is a great day to try it – even if for just that one day.
Flextime, compressed work week, other alternatives help avoid peak congestion.
Consider allowing earlier or later arrival and/or departure on Inauguration Day.
Provide an option to employees to work four 10-hour days that week – and take Inauguration Day off!
Biking & Walking
Ride a bike or walk for part or all of the commute trip.
All Ride On and Metrobuses are equipped with bike racks on the front.
All Metro stations provide bike lockers and/or racks.
Dressed properly, biking and walking even in winter can be healthful.
Get a map & more info: Call the TRiPS Commuter Store at (240) 773-TRiPS (8747) for bike/ped maps (they show bus routes too!) and additional info – or visit the Commuter Services Biking & Walking web page and click on Biking Maps.
Information about Free Valet Bicycle Parking for the Inauguration is here.
Information about walking to the Inauguration can be found here.
Carpool/Vanpool
Consider sharing the ride with a co-worker or friend.
Encourage your employees to ride to work with co-workers.
Call TRiPS soon to find others in your area to pool with: (240) 773-TRiPS (8747)Note: On Inauguration Day, like other weekdays, you will need a car/vanpool parking permit to park in pool spaces in County garages from 7:00am – 9:00am.
Ride On Bus Service and Park & Ride Lots
Use Ride On to travel to the nearest Metro station and avoid the parking hassles on Inauguration Day!
Ride On encourages all passengers to us SmarTrip cards.Pre-load funds on SmarTrip cards before the the weekend if possible!
Montgomery County’s Ride On system will operate Weekday routes on a Weekday schedule, except operations on 42 routes that serve Metro Stations will be extended to 10:00pm. Routes that run later than 10:00pm will continue to operate as late as their usual weekday schedule.
Service to many Metrorail stations and parking areas will be augmented. In order to provide that service, some routes will have fewer trips and diversions on some routes will be eliminated. Please check your routehere.
Extra service and on-site supervisors have been added to Ride On routes for these six Park & Ride lots (click on them for route maps):
Special Ride On shuttle services will be provided from the following Park & Ride lots to Shady Grove Metro Station:
MD 124 (Quince Orchard Rd.) at Interstate 270 (map here)
MD 117 (West Diamond Ave.) at Interstate 270 (map here)
These shuttle services will cost $3.00 for an all-day regional pass, sold on board. Cash only, please.No SmarTrip cards will be accepted on these special shuttles.
On-street parking around Metrorail stations will be limited, so everyone is encouraged to use County parking facilities and to carpool.
Residents should be aware that parking may be restricted on many roads where it is typically allowed.
Residents using metered parking are reminded to brings coins or a CashKey. The CashKey can be purchased at various locations, more information is available here.
The City of Rockville's three Town Square parking garages will cost $1/hour between 7:00am and 7:00pm with a daily maximum of $10. The garages are located three blocks from the Rockville Metro Station between Middle Lane and Beall Avenue on Route 355, on Maryland Avenue and on North Washington Street. A Rockville Town Center parking map can be found here.
Two Montgomery County public schools within walking distance of Metrorail stations will allow parking in their lots Tuesday only:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, and
Richard Montgomery High School
All vehices must be out of the school parking lots by 3:00am, Wednesday, January 21, or they will be towed.
Patrons using Metro parking garages must pay the $4 fee in cash and cannot use their SmarTrip cards.
NEW INFORMATION: Rush hour parking restrictions will be exended from 2:00am Tuesday, January 20 to 5:00am Wedesday, January 21 on Wisconsin Ave, Georgia Ave, and Colesville Road (No Parking will be permitted on these roads within the Central Business Districts).
NEW INFORMATION: In addition to parking restrictions along Wisconsin Avenue, Georgia Avenue, and Colesville Road, parking will not be permitted along the streets listed below. Parking meters will be bagged in these areas.
In the vicinity of the White Flint Metro Station:
Marinelli Road between Executive Blvd. and Nebel St.
In the vicinity of the Grosvenor Metro Station:
Tuckerman Lane loop from MD 355 N & S intersections.
In the vicinity of the Silver Spring Metro Station:
Spring Street from Fairview Rd to Georgia Avenue
Spring Street from Georgia Avenue to Railroad tracks just before 2nd Avenue
Information about Park & Ride Lots in Montgomery County can be found here, or you can download the Park & Ride Lot Guide here(very large file!).
Park & Ride Lots, Parking Structures, Metro and MARC stations can all be found by usingMyMontgomery.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
People planning to use Metro during the four days of Inaugural activities can sign up for special e-alerts on Metro’s Web site at www.wmata.com/inauguration. E-alerts will be issued when Metro has news relating to service for the Inauguration and when there may be service disruptions.
NEW INFORMATION: An outline of Metro's Inauguration-related service plans for Sunday and Monday can be found here.
The U.S. Secret Service has deemed the Inauguration a special national security event and due to security measures, the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter station on Metro's Green/Yellow Lines and the Smithsonian station on the Blue/Orange Lines, will be closed on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, January 20. They will open after the parade, approximately at 6:30 p.m. Judiciary Square station on the Red Line will close at 4:00pm and Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center station on the Green/Yellow Lines will close at 7:30am due to their proximity to locations hosting Inaugural Balls. Both stations are scheduled to reopen at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 21.
Metro is running 23 special rapid bus corridors to carry thousands of people heading to the National Mall on Inauguration Day. These routes will provide high frequency bus service in order to expand access to downtown DC the day of the Presidential Inaugural. This special rapid bus service will run 4:00am to 9:00pm on Tuesday, January 20th.
Metro is selling a special one-day Inauguration bus pass only on January 20. Bus passengers can purchase the $5 pass when they board a bus and receive the pass from operators, good for riding all day. Metro riders can still pay the full $1.35 cash one-way fare or pay $1.25 with a SmarTrip card.
Metrorail Service
Metrorail ridership is expected to set a new record. PLEASE PLAN AHEAD!
Metrorail will be operating on a special schedule throughout the Holiday Weekend and on Inauguration Day – see chart below.
Continuous rush hour schedules will be operated from 4:00am to 9:00pm on Inauguration Day.
Metrorail will charge peak fares during the rush hour service times.
All restrooms in the Metrorail system will be closed.
NO bicycles will be permitted on Metrorail on Inauguration Day or at any time during the holiday weekend, Saturday, January 17th through Tuesday, January 20th.
As a security precaution, two Metrorail stations will be closed until after the Inaugural Parade. The stations will re-open at approximately 6:30pm:
NEW INFORMATION:Judiciary Square station on the Red Line will close at 4:00pm and Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center station on the Green/Yellow Lines will close at 7:30am due to their proximity to locations hosting Inaugural Balls. Both stations are scheduled to reopen at 5:00am on Wednesday, January 21.
NEW INFORMATION:Several downtown Metrorail stations entrances will be designated as exit-only or entry-only, to move as many people as possible into and out of the Metrorail system on Inauguration Day. Please click here for the entire list of affected Metro stations.
Metrorail Holiday Weekend & Inauguration Day Schedule:
Dates
Metrorail Hours
Special Metrorail Service
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009
7:00am to 3:00am
Regular Saturday Schedule
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009
7:00am to Midnight
Regular Sunday Schedule
Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 (Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday)
5:00am to 2:00am
Regular Saturday Schedule (Non-peak fares in effect all day)
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day)
4:00am to 2:00am
Rush Hour service through 9:00pm (Rush Hour fares will be in effect from 4:00am until 9:00pm)
Parking at Metrorail stations will cost $4.00 for the day, January 20th. Patrons using Metro parking garages must pay the $4 fee in cash and cannot use their SmarTrip cards.
Parking at Metrorail stations will be free from Saturday, January 17th to Monday, January 19th.
NEW INFORMATION: Automobiles will not be permitted to enter Metro parking lots after 11:00pm on Monday, January 19. Vehicles parked at Metro lots must leave by 2:00am or by the time the station closes, soon after 2:00am or risk being ticketed and towed.
Metro’s parking lots will reopen at 3:30am on Tuesday, January 20.
NEW INFORMATION: Motorists will be able to park at the Greenbelt, Van Dorn, and Morgan Boulevard Metro stations.
The Minnesota Avenue station parking lot will be closed to the public to provide parking for Metro employees working on Inauguration Day.
Both private cars and charter buses permitted to park at the Shady Grove, Vienna, and West Falls Church stations.
All other stations will permit parking as usual – except there will be NO reserved parking at any of Metro’s lots on Inauguration Day.
Metrobus Service
Metrobus will be operating on a “modified” Saturday schedule from 4:00am to 9:00pm on Inauguration Day.
Due to street closures expected around downtown, be prepared for detours and plan for additional travel time. For example, no vehicular traffic (including buses) will be able to travel near the Capitol or across Pennsylvania Avenue.
NEW INFORMATION: Metro has designated 23 special bus corridors to run extended rush-hour service from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Jan. 20. Corridor service mainly follows existing Metrobus routes and bus stops across the region. The buses on these corridors pick up and terminate at 14 stops just outside the restricted area. They will run about every 10 minutes to accommodate inauguration crowds. Maps of these routes may be viewed here.
The corridor service routes originating in Montgomery County are:
N4 and 31 from the Friendship Heights Metro
L4 from Chevy Chase Circle
S2, S4 and 70 from Silver Spring Metro. Due to the construction of the new Silver Spring Transit Center, Metrobus and Ride On bus stops have been temporarily relocated. Click here for a map of bus route locations in Silver Spring or go here for a printable brochure.
Metrobus Holiday Weekend & Inauguration Day Schedule:
Dates
Special Metrobus Service
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009
Regular Saturday Schedule
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009
Regular Sunday Schedule
Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 (Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday)
Regular Sunday Schedule
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day)
Modified Weekday Schedule from 4:00am to 9:00pm (expect major delays downtown)
Guaranteed Ride Home services are not available on designated federal holidays including Monday, Jan 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Tuesday, January 20 for the Presidential Inauguration.
Service available on reserved trains only with special reserved, round-trip tickets Round-trip fare is $25.00
MARC has 3 lines: Penn, Camden, & Brunswick. Changes apply to all 3 lines
MARC Trains (all 3 lines) will run inbound to Washington 5:00am – 9:00am
MARC Trains (all 3 lines) will run outbound from Washington 4:00pm – 9:00pm
On Monday, January 19th – Martin Luther King Holiday – MARC’s Penn Line operating on regular schedule; Camden and Brunswick lines operating on limited schedule. Regular fares apply and passes will be accepted For more information, please visit the MARC Web site.
MTA Commuter Buses
No regular MTA Commuter Bus service on Inauguration Day.
Commuter Buses will operate special MTA Shuttle Service from outlying Park & Ride Lots & other designated locations to Metrorail stations.
Shuttle Service will operate 4 am – 9 am and then again 4:00pm – 9:00pm.
Reservations not required.
Tickets can be purchased onboard.
Regular Commuter Bus tickets will NOT be accepted.
MTA Shuttles will charge $10 for round trip fare – Exact Change Only.
Listed below are designated locations & frequency of service:
Seniors
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