Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Charting the Essential Link Between Walkability and Transit

The most highly used Metro stations in DC are also the most walkable. Image: WMATA
Surprise! The DC Metro stations with the most ridership also have the most people living within walking distance. Image: WMATA
false

Want to guess which DC Metro stations the most riders walk to? Your best bet is to count apartment buildings nearby.

New data released by WMATA shows the strong link between the number of people who live close to the station and how many people can walk to it. Dan Malouff at BeyondDC isn't shocked by any means, but he says the data is interesting nonetheless:

According to WMATA’s PlanItMetro blog, “the more people can walk to transit, the more people do walk to transit -- and data across Metrorail stations prove it.”

All in all, Metro’s stations fit neatly along a trendline that shows a strong correlation between more households nearby and more riders arriving to stations by foot.

Even the outliers tell a story. U Street and Mount Vernon Square have the 6th and 7th highest number of households nearby, but they under perform on walking Metro ridership. One might speculate that Mount Vernon Square is so close to so many offices that more people simply walk. U Street is a little farther away, but it’s still close enough to downtown that buses and bicycles may be better options for a large portion of riders.

One factoid that may in fact surprise is that three of the five most-walked-to stations are not in DC: Two of those stations are in Arlington (Court House and Ballston) and one is in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Elsewhere on the Network today: PubliCola reports that Seattle has struck a compromise on micro-housing. And Urban Review STL runs the numbers to see what Missouri would be collecting from its state gas tax if it had kept pace with the level of revenue in 1996.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Turn Back the Clock

The Trump administration is undoing decades of progress on transportation emissions and safety — progress that many would argue was too modest to begin with.

March 14, 2025

Friday Video: Welcome to the War on ‘Woke’ Transportation

Overwhelmed by weeks of federal attacks on green and equitable transportation? Catch up with this explainer and plug in to the fight.

March 14, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: The Annual Yonah Freemark Show, Part II

Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute is back again for Part II of his annual "Talking Headways" discussion.

March 13, 2025

What if the ‘Tesla Takedown’ Is Only the Beginning?

Tesla's cars have become symbols of Elon Musk's controversial role in U.S. politics — but they're also instruments of a violent system that long predates his time in the White House.

March 13, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Hard-Driving

To paraphrase Billy Idol: Get out of my car, get into my dreams. Wired shows us examples of cities cutting down on driving that most of us can only fantasize about.

March 13, 2025
See all posts