It’s only been in operation for a few months, but the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line already is having an impact on travel to and from Washington Dulles International Airport.
An average of 9 percent of travelers using the airport during the holiday period used the Silver Line, according to data discussed Jan. 18 by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s board of directors.
(Oddly, the breakdown was 7 percent of those traveling to the airport reported using the service, while 11 percent of those leaving the airport did.)
The Silver Line extension westward from Reston opened just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, with the stop close to Dulles’s terminal giving travelers a chance to leave their vehicles at home.
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, about 15 percent of travelers currently use Metro’s Blue and Yellow Lines, according to said Chryssa Westerlund, the airports authority’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer.
That’s still down from the pre-pandemic rate of about 20 percent, but twice as high as the rate used during the heart of the pandemic.
“People are coming back to public transportation,” Westerlund said.