Photo by Photos by Chip PyMore and more workers in the D.C. area are using Metro and other public transportation methods to get to work, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census’ American Community Survey found that 37.5 percent of D.C.’s workers commute to their jobs using trains and buses in a period measured between 2007 and 2011. That’s up from 33.2 percent in 1999.
The Census data, which were reported by The Washington Examiner, also found similar trends in Arlington, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties:
Montgomery and Arlington counties experienced similar jumps. The percentage of Montgomery residents taking public transit to work rose from 12.6 in 1999 to 15.2 in the latest census data, while Arlington residents went from 23.3 percent to 27.7 percent over the same time period.
The largest percentage-point increase, however, was in Prince George’s County. While commuters there still largely favor the car — 76.7 percent drive to work — public transit rose to 17.6 percent from 11.9 percent in 1999.
The Census Bureau’s finding that the D.C. area—which already ranks third among major metropolitan regions in popularity of public transit—would seem to buck some projections that driving will reign supreme forever. Cars still accounted for a plurality of commutes, with 42 percent of D.C. residents telling the American Community Survey they drive to work, but that’s down from the 49.2 percent reported in 1999. Not exactly the trend projected by an October study released by a George Mason University research unit, which predicted that 73 percent of people would still be driving to work in 2040.
