The Washington region ranks third nationally in terms of the use of public transit. It's no wonder why -- we've got the worst traffic in the country. more ›

Seventy-four hours. Thirty-seven gallons of gas. Almost $1,500 a year. That's the individual cost of congestion in the Washington, D.C. metro area according to the 2011 Urban Mobility Study published by the Texas Transportation Institute. more ›

If you can avoid getting into a brawl, there's a new benefit to taking the Metro. A report from the American Public Transportation Association calculates that commuters in the D.C.-area can save an average of $760 per month by living with one less car and switching over to public transportation. The savings were calculated using the costs of driving, such as gas, parking, maintenance and taxes, and comparing those to the price of a monthly, unlimited public transportation pass. D.C. Metrorail does not have such a monthly pass. Whoops. more ›

The rush to get out of D.C. to family Thanksgiving celebrations has already begun, but if you're still reading DCist, you're probably still at work and planning on leaving within the next 72 hours. Whether opening up that military airspace will really make a difference at Washington area airports remains to be seen, but WMATA has announced a special Thanksgiving weekend schedule that could stand to help out many of you trying to take public... more ›

The Examiner reports on a new DMV program that would install SmarTrip chips into every new D.C. driver's license and identification card beginning in October, 2008. The program is a combined effort by the agency and WMATA, the latter of which has made no secret of its intention to make universal conversion to SmarTrip a priority. Recently Metro General Manager John Catoe made SmarTrip cards available for sale at more Giant Food stores and announced... more ›

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.... more ›

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just... more ›

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice... more ›

Good morning, Washington. For the first time in almost 30 years, the Senate will take up a measure considering D.C. voting rights this afternoon, though as we explained yesterday, today's action is really just a vote to consider giving us the vote in the House, not the actual vote to give us the vote. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who will take public transportation all day today in honor of Car Free D.C. Day, announced he will... more ›

Do you have the option of taking public transportation or riding a bike to work, but still choose to drive for personal reasons? The D.C. Council is asking people like you to pledge to give up your car for just one day tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 18, for its first annual Car Free D.C. Day. If you'd like to take the Car Free Pledge, head over to Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells' site to sign... more ›

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty may be seen by his constituency as young, technologically savvy and constantly making personal appearances at even the smallest neighborhood events. But unlike his pal up in New York, rarely can he be seen riding public transportation, preferring to be whisked around town in his big, black Lincoln Navigator. And we're willing to concede that it probably makes more sense for the most part, seeing as how Fenty needs to... more ›

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and... more ›

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom... more ›

Good morning, D.C. If you live in Wards 1 or 2, don't forget to turn out to vote today in the special election for District I member of the State Board of Education. There's only one name on the ballot, that of veteran education reporter Mary Lord, but as we mentioned before, there's also a write-in candidate, first-year teacher in DCPS Jason Crawford. Check out each candidate's web site and decide for yourself. If... more ›

If you live in Virginia and take public transportation into Washington every day, WMATA is looking for you. Metro’s Riders’ Advisory Council needs commuters from Virginia to fill three vacant positions on the Council, two from Fairfax County and one from Arlington County. To be eligible for the positions, you need to live in either Fairfax or Arlington counties, ride bus, rail and/or MetroAccess, and not be a Metro employee, contractor or elected official. You... more ›

Day 1 was hot. Day 2 was dusty. And there were enough Amy-Winehouse-inspired hairdos to sink a ship. Our feet hurt, our foreheads are burnt to a crisp, we've got indentations on our noses from wearing sunglasses so much, a serious nap is in order and it's going to take more than one shower to fully recuperate, but the second annual Virgin Festival delivered on its promises of good bands, ecological responsibility, copious amenities... more ›

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti... more ›

Ahhhh, the real start of summer: The consistently warmer temperatures ... the first night you venture wearing skimpy clothes out ... the year's first Code Orange Bad Air Quality Day. However you prefer measuring the start of the season, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is predicting our first Code Orange air quality day today, meaning ozone levels are predicted to be extremely high and the air quality very poor. The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission... more ›

Good Morning, Washington. It looks like another fine spring day from our vantage point at DCist headquarters -- weather fit for a queen, as it were. Thanks to Flickr user Jon-Miles for sharing some of his shots with us from yesterday's press event with President Bush and Queen Elizabeth II. Today is the final day of the Queen's tour of the region. Before a private dinner with the Bushes, she'll spend it by visiting the... more ›

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese version... more ›

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment The action was thick... more ›

You'll forgive us, we hope, if when we first saw this headline, we let out an exasperated "not again!" But it wasn't a Metrobus that was involved with the death of a man earlier this afternoon. Police are still investigating how the still unidentified man ended up on the tracks at the Columbia Heights metro station, in the path of an incoming Yellow Line train. The WaPo has limited details so far. It would be... more ›

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as they... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Joe Englert wants a parking garage. So it says in the Washington Business Journal, on page four of a six page testament to the change he’s helping spread along H Street NE, once one of the District’s proudest thoroughfares and now in the midst of a facelift. When he hasn’t been opening businesses there himself, it seems he’s been grooming and instructing... more ›

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,... more ›

Hey Washington, are you suddenly feeling cheerier than usual this morning, without knowing for sure why? Well check it out: Congressional Democrats have gone ahead and returned to a rules change that allows nonstate representatives to vote on amendments. The nonstates included in the rule, which was also in place from 1993-1995, are American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now it's on to getting full voting rights!... more ›

We're running just a tad behind this morning, D.C., not necessarily because we opted to walk the several miles in to the office this morning after reading a headline in the Washington Post that WE MIGHT NOT BE SAFE on public transportation. Of course, the full article reveals that Metrorail has similar safety records to any other major city's subway system of comparable size, and that it's perfectly safe. Damn, if only we had bothered... more ›

Afternoon, D.C. Hope you're enjoying your Tuesday, and that your holiday shopping is getting done. Ours sure isn't. Here's some news for you all to get you out the office door. >> We know some people who won't have any problems affording all the items on their Christmas lists this year. The D.C. Council just voted this afternoon to give themselves a raise, making themselves the highest-paid officials in the area. The Post gives us... more ›

Well, D.C. How's your Emergency Tuesday shaping up so far? It looks like there's some more exciting Emergency Legislation on the table for the D.C. City Council this morning. Apart from the pay raises we mentioned yesterday, the council's agenda for the day includes a total of, yes really, 40 emergency bills, including another that would provide for exemptions to the liquor license law that currently prohibits anyone from selling liquor within 400 feet of... more ›

>> As exciting as all the congressional politics were yesterday, there was also a whole bunch of local fun going on. The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has full results of the races, including those for ANC, for your viewing pleasure (in a PDF format). [DCBOEE] >> Hey, who needs political representation when you get to file your taxes a whole extra day later? Something for us to look forward to come April.... more ›