Metro gets high marks from Olympic judges

WASHINGTON -- The Olympic judges from Canada have weighed-in and are giving Metro high marks for its performance during the inauguration.

Transportation leaders from Vancouver, which will host the 2010 Winter Olympics, received a first hand look at just how challenging it is to move record crowds around during a major event.

Metro opened the doors to its operation control center and allowed the Canadian transit officials in over the inaugural weekend.

"They were impressed with how we were able to get people around and also the number of officers that we hand on hand at our stations," says Sara Wilson, Metro's point person for the inauguration.

Vancouver describes the 2010 Olympics as the ultimate test of its transportation planning and operations. The South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority is now working on an automated rapid-transit line that will link the Olympic Village of Vancouver to the city's International Airport.

Vancouver transit teams have been preparing for the 2010 games by studying major events around the world, such as the inauguration.

This past week, Metro set three rail ridership records -- a Sunday record and back-to-back weekday records. Between Sunday and Tuesday Metrorail carried an estimated 2.6 million riders.

This is not the first time the transit agency has helped out with the Olympics. In 1996, Metro sent buses to Atlanta for the summer games.

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