Photo by Glyn Lowe Photos
While many furloughed employees are out enjoying the countless drink and food specials scattered throughout the city, a good plenty are also apparently taking advantage of their free time by cruising through the city on two wheels. At least, that’s what Capital Bikeshare’s numbers from this week thus far suggest.
According to a Facebook post, Capital Bikeshare is having a banner week. On Tuesday, the first full day of the federal government shutdown, Capital Bikeshare had its 18th busiest day ever—and busiest Tuesday ever—with 10,367 rides, and set a record for most rides by members in a given day, with 9,028.
And on Wednesday—the second full day of the shutdown—it topped that. It was the 17th busiest day ever with 10,393 rides, and broke the previous day’s record of most rides in a day by members with 9,104. Whether or not this data directly relates to the federal government shutdown is unclear. “I cannot relate it to the shutdown,” Reggie Sanders, a spokesperson with the D.C. Department of Transportation, told DCist, “because we just don’t have that data, but I would imagine so.”