Photo by automatonempire

Howdy, Washington. That was some kind of weekend, no? No, really, that was some kind of weekend: The Washington Business Journal reports that on Thursday, Metrorail recorded nearly 878,000 trips, making it the second all-time highest traffic day in D.C. Metro history. Blame it on the brilliant weather, Cherry Blossom Festival, United and Capitals games, and comeuppance for all those days area residents spent indoors in February, but the city got out this weekend. After President Barack Obama’s inauguration (which holds first place in Metrorail ridership) and the day before the inauguration (third place), this past weekend might have been one of the busiest couple days in public transit history.

People are taking Metro and liking it. The Washington Post runs the results of its latest Metro ridership poll today and finds that people generally dig Metro on issues of comfort, safety, reliability, and get-there-ness. Enthusiasm has diminished along the outliers — people rating the system as “excellent” have declined — while positive marks for reliability have fallen. One-third of users say that they use the system less these days, but it doesn’t appear by the survey to be a result of concerns over safety.

That people like Metro a lot but don’t love it the way they did back in 2005 may have something to do with Metro’s recent strategy to hike fares again and again while dialing back services. Dialing back the Yellow Line extension is the kind of move that would permanently color my perception of Metro and its development. I’m with my boys Ryan Avent and Matthew Yglesias: Cutbacks are dumb during a period of rapid core expansion and rising unemployment, and service cuts are bound to have consequences when election time comes.

People like Metro a lot better than its critics suggest. It’s one thing, though, to fail to deliver a Purple Line as quickly as Metro nerds would like. It’s another to take away those things — reliability, get-there-ness, expanded hours — for which users give the system high marks.

George Washington University Comes Correct on First Lady Pledge: They held up their part of the bargain. First Lady Michelle Obama told GWU students that if they volunteered 100,000 volunteer community service hours, she would speak at the school’s graduation. ABC 7 says that it’s on: GWU officials will announce today that students, faculty, and staff met their goal ahead of schedule. Nice work, Blue and Buff.

Area Moms Going Back To Work: The Washington Post observes that moms who want to return to work have it tough. Over the last year, long-term unemployment has doubled for women aged 45 to 64, and just 40 percent of at-home moms who return to work find full-time positions. The Post notes a few area programs for DMV-area women looking to make the difficult transition from employment as mothers to professional employment. (First step is to stop hanging around the bars.)

Briefly Noted: Metrobus driver arrested for trying to hire prostitute while on duty . . . A Montgomery County police officer died in a car crash in Wheaton . . . New county manager for Arlington.

This Day in DCist: A Fairfax student was suspended for taking birth control in school, while DCist discovered the whereabouts of a missing Mayor Fenty.