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

More Than 1 in 10 Workers Commute By Bike in Some D.C. Neighborhoods

Bike share commuting rates in central DC. Map: DDOT
Bike commuting rates in central DC. Map: DDOT
false

Imagine 20 percent of commuters getting to work by bike in a major U.S. city. No entire city is close yet (Portland, with the highest rate, is at about 6 percent), but some neighborhoods are getting there.

Dan Malouff at Beyond DC shares new data from DDOT showing that in a few areas of Washington, the bike commute mode share is especially impressive. The numbers for specific Census block groups should be taken with a grain of salt because the margin of error is high. But it's safe to say that more than 1 in 10 workers commute by bike in some parts of DC.

Malouff writes:

This fascinating map is part of the background data DDOT is preparing to study a possible protected bikeway on or around 6th Street NW.

It shows how hugely popular bicycling can be as a mode of transportation, even in the United States. What’s more, this data actually undercounts bicycle commuters by quite a lot.

It’s originally from the US Census’ American Community Survey, which only counts the mode someone uses for the longest segment of their commute. People who bicycle a short distance to reach a Metro station, then ride Metro for the rest of their commute, count as transit riders rather than bicyclists.

Keep in mind that DC has made rapid progress on bike infrastructure for an American city -- it didn't have a single on-street protected bike lane as recently as 10 years ago.

Elsewhere on the Network: Sustainable Cities Collective explains how cities like Seattle and Toronto are "rethinking" backyards. And the Dallas Morning News' Transportation Blog says that for a city with no plans to stop expanding highways, building landscaped "decks" to mitigate the damage is likely to become increasingly common.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Localities Subsidize the State DOT

Adie Tomer of Brookings on how to improve regional coordination around infrastructure.

July 10, 2025

Five of the Ugliest Transportation Policies In the ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill

Here's a rundown of some of the transportation provisions in the Republicans' reconciliation package, and what they might mean for your community.

July 10, 2025

Viva La Thursday’s Headlines

Why is French transit ridership up 10 percent since before the pandemic, while American transit ridership is down 23 percent?

July 10, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Are Bigger and Beautiful-er

There's a lot of bad news in the Big Beautiful Bill — but it also may have helped kill a major highway expansion in Oregon.

July 9, 2025

Removing ‘Rainbow Crosswalks’ Won’t Make America’s Arterials Safer

Secretary Duffy wants to tackle dangerous arterials. So why is he coming after rainbow crosswalks most often seen on narrow city roads?

July 9, 2025

The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Is About Our Transportation Future, Too

Transportation didn't get a lot of mention in the public discussion of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But it's everywhere.

July 8, 2025
See all posts