Transportation in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. has a number of different modes of transportation available for use. Commuters have a major influence on travel patterns, with only 28% of people employed in Washington, D.C. commuting from within the city, whereas 33.5% commute from the nearby Maryland suburbs, 22.7% from Northern Virginia, and the rest from Washington, D.C.,'s outlying suburbs.

Commuting

Washington, D.C., has the second-highest percentage of public transit commuters in the United States, behind only New York City.

Commuters have a major influence on travel patterns in Washington, D.C. 671,678 people are employed in Washington, D.C., with only 28% commuting from within the city. 18.7% of people working in Washington, D.C., commute from Prince George's County, Maryland, and 14.8% from Montgomery County, Maryland. 13.2% come from Fairfax County, Virginia, 6% from Arlington County, Virginia, and 3.5% from Alexandria, Virginia. Smaller numbers of commuters come from the outer suburbs, including 2.4% from Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and 2.3% from Prince William County, Virginia, 1.6% from Charles County, Maryland, 1.3% from Howard County, Maryland, and 1% from Loudoun County, Virginia. Of the 260,000 Washington, D.C. residents that were employed as of 2000, 24% commute to jobs in Montgomery, Prince George's, Fairfax, and Arlington Counties, as well as Alexandria. Of those that work in Washington, D.C., 44.8% drive alone to work, 21.2% take Metro, 14.4% carpool/ slug, 8.8% use Metrobus, 4.5% walk to work, 2.7% travel by commuter rail, and 0.6% ride their bicycle to work. Of the households in Washington, D.C., 35.4% do not own a car.

Public transportation statistics

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Washington, for example, to and from work, on a weekday is 86 min. 31% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 19 min, while 34% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is , while 20% travel for over in a single direction.

Streets and highways

City streets in the District of Columbia are organized primarily in a grid-like fashion with its origin at the United States Capitol, with diagonal streets running across this grid, as well as circles—a plan laid out by Pierre L'Enfant and revised by Andrew Ellicott and Joseph Ellicott. The north–south roads are primarily named with numbers (i.e., 1st Street, 2nd Street, etc.), while the east–west roads are primarily named with letters (beginning with A Street) or, once letters are exhausted, are named alphabetically (Adams, Bryant, Channing, etc.) Intersecting this network of streets are diagonal avenues named after each of the fifty states. Within this grid, all streets are a part of one of the four quadrants of the city — Northeast (NE), Northwest (NW), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW) — all centered on the Capitol Building. All roads end with this suffix at the end of their title. For example, there is a 4th Street NE, 4th Street NW, 4th Street SE, and 4th Street SW.

Exceptions to this nomenclature include the names of the streets that line the National Mall. The north side of the mall is lined by Constitution Avenue, whereas the south side of the mall is lined by Independence Avenue. Both streets follow the NE, NW, SE, SW rule.

Major interstates running through the area include the Capital Beltway (I-495), I-66, I-95, I-395 (also called the Southwest/Southeast Freeway in D.C. or Shirley Highway in Virginia), I-295 (also called the Anacostia Freeway or Kenilworth Avenue), and I-270 (which does not reach D.C., terminating at I-495). Other major highways include the Whitehurst Freeway, in D.C., the George Washington Parkway in Virginia, the Rock Creek Parkway in D.C., the Suitland Parkway in D.C. and Maryland, US Route 50, the Clara Barton Parkway and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland, and the Dulles Toll Road in Virginia. Portions of I-66 and I-95/I-395 in Virginia are HOV roads (only vehicles carrying multi-occupants or using hybrid energy are allowed during weekday rush hours).

Cars

Taxi

As of 2015, Washington had over 6,200 registered taxis, making it the third-largest concentration of taxis in the United States, after New York City and Chicago. Regardless of company operating the taxi service, all taxis operating in the city share a uniform design, as mandated by the DC Taxicab Commission. The vehicles are red with a gray stripe along the side doors.

Car sharing

In December 2001, Metro initiated a relationship with Flexcar, a private company which operates car sharing networks in several North American cities. A competitor, Zipcar, began service in the region and later merged with Flexcar on October 31, 2007. With this service, cars are parked at major Metrorail stations and other convenient locations in the metropolitan area and made available for rental on an hourly basis, with the goal of reducing car dependency and congestion, improving the environment, and increasing transit ridership. 

In March 2012, Car2Go began offering service in D.C., initially providing 200 Smart cars for use everywhere within the District's city limits. The international car sharing company, which offers one-way rentals charged by the minute, increased their vehicle fleet to 400 in 2013. During its first year of operation, Car2Go paid the city more than $500,000 for rights to meter-free parking. The service has seen initial success; from September 2012 to July 2013, membership tripled to 26,000 users.

Parking

There is heavy vehicle congestion from the large percentage of the population who chooses to drive. This results in very limited parking, especially in the downtown areas of the city. Corporations have made various attempts to solve the city's parking problem as a guinea pig location, but there has been little success. Parking restrictions are strictly enforced, and the complicated parking hours posted on signs can be confusing. Environmentalists question the free parking spaces given to thousands of Congressional employees, discouraging them from using public transportation.

Rail

Washington Metro

The Washington area is served by the Washington Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The Metro opened in 1976 and currently has 97 stations across six lines covering 129 miles (208 km) of track. When measured by ridership, the Washington Metro is the second-largest rapid rail system in the United States and fifth-largest in North America. Riders pay using a SmartTrip Card, and the fare is determined by distance traveled on the system as well as the time of day. Fares are more expensive the farther one's trip is, and are also more expensive during peak hours of the weekday. Many suburban Metro stations have large parking garages for commuters to park in. These garages are free during the weekend but require payment during the weekdays.

WMATA also operates Metrobus, a regional bus system serving D.C. and the closest immediate counties (described in greater detail below). The Washington Metro connects with both commuter rail and intercity rail systems at Union Station.

DC Streetcar

On February 27, 2016, the first line of the DC Streetcar was opened between Union Station and Oklahoma Ave/Benning Rd, running for most of its length along H Street. More lines are planned.

Commuter rail

MARC provides service from Union Station to Baltimore and Perryville with intermediate stops, on both the Camden and Penn Lines. MARC's Brunswick Line provides service between Martinsburg, West Virginia, with intermediate stops, and Union Station. A new spur of the Brunswick line also goes to Frederick, Maryland. All three lines of Maryland's MARC train system begin at Union Station in Washington where passengers can transfer to the Washington Metro's Red Line. Connections can also be made at , , , , and stations.

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter trains provide service from Union Station to Fredericksburg and Manassas, Virginia, on its Fredericksburg and Manassas Lines, respectively. VRE trains also stop at several Metro stations, including , , , and .

Amtrak

Amtrak's ''Acela Express'' and ''Northeast Regional'' provide service on the high speed Northeast Corridor from Washington's Union Station to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, as well as intermediate stops. In addition, the ''Vermonter'' provides service to St. Albans, Vermont, via New York. The ''Palmetto'' provides service to Georgia, the ''Crescent'' provides service to New Orleans

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