Travelers urged to plan for Obama inauguration

WASHINGTON -- Obama inauguration

Plan your trip now to the National Mall for Barack Obama's inauguration -- or risk missing the main event, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and other regional officials advised yesterday.

Kaine encouraged travelers to buy round-trip tickets on Virginia Railway Express, which had 3,000 to 4,000 seats remaining. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said commuter rail service in his state is sold out.

Standing with Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, the governors warned against deciding on Inauguration Day to drive into the District of Columbia.

Metro buses running to the District and to Metro rail stations will be free Inauguration Day.

Kaine advised people to make at least a full day of the trip to avoid spending all Tuesday in traffic. People can be "urban campers" Monday night, he said, sleeping at friends' homes in the city before heading to the Mall by 7 a.m. Tuesday.

"There are not a lot of days in a life where you know when you wake up you'll remember it for the rest of your life. This is going to be one of those days," Kaine said.

Security officials said they hope the day will be memorable for its history -- not its hassles.

"We do not want security to overshadow this event. There are going to be delays and there are going to be inconveniences," said Mark Sullivan, director of the Secret Service. He said Obama's inauguration is the "biggest event I've ever been involved in" in his 25-year career.

The Sunday welcome event at the Lincoln Memorial is expected to attract 500,000 people. That crowd alone would match those on the Fourth of July, typically the busiest day on the Metro subway system. Sunday's event is to include singers Bono, Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen and remarks from the president-elect.

The crowd for Obama's swearing-in ceremony Tuesday is expected to at least double that.

More than 3,000 tour buses have registered for parking in the city, the first time the District has run an inauguration bus-permitting process. Almost 200 buses a day have been registering on the city's Web site since Jan. 7. Washington has a total of 6,894 bus spaces for the event.

Officials repeated Tuesday that people must decide between attending the inauguration and the parade.

"You will not be able to do both," Fenty said. Space for 350,000 people along the parade route is expected to be completely filled by 10 a.m. Tuesday, officials said. The swearing-in ceremony starts at noon. The parade begins at 2:30 p.m.

People who don't have a spot to watch the parade can stand on the Mall and view it on one of more than 20 jumbo video screens that will broadcast the swearing-in and parade.

In the event of an emergency, the screens will also be used to give safety instructions to the crowd. Officials advise planning routes in and out of the District, including alternates.

"This is not like throwing the family in the van and heading down for a visit at the Air and Space Museum," O'Malley said. "You really have to have a plan."

Contact Neil H. Simon at (202) 662-7669 or .