If you work near the White House, don’t have a car, and want to keep your commute under an hour, you could live in Gaithersburg, Md., or Reston, Va., both about 20 miles away.
But you'd have trouble doing the same from just across the Anacostia River in neighborhoods near the southern tip of the District, roughly seven miles away, or from close-in areas of Prince George’s County.
Metrorail, buses and regional commuter rail create an elaborate network of transit accessibility for the region. But while several wealthier neighborhoods and suburbs have relatively easy access to job centers, many lower-income neighborhoods on the eastern side of the District and across the border in Maryland are more difficult to reach.
Each of the colored regions on the map above, called isochrones, represent a different range of places you could reach in within a certain amount of time. Starting from the White House, for example, most of downtown Washington is accessible within 15 minutes (the dark-blue area on the map). The next region, in yellow, would take up to 45 minutes to reach, and the red areas would take up to an hour to reach.
The estimated commute times on these maps are based on transit schedules, which represent ideal road and transit conditions, as opposed to actual traffic levels on a given day. For more details on the modes of transit included in this analysis, see the methodology below.
[ When commuting in the D.C. region, distance doesn’t tell the whole story]
Schedule changes will decrease late-night transit coverage
After the expected end of the SafeTrack program in June, Metro plans to move closing times for weekday service up half an hour, to 11:30 p.m. This change will significantly impact late-night transit coverage and the average of 2,600 riders who ride Metrorail from 11:30 to midnight on the typical weeknight, according to Metro ridership data.
The map below shows where you could reach if you left each starting point at rush hour compared to 11:30 p.m., and 11:30 p.m. service without Metrorail.
Late-night cuts will impact low-income, transit-reliant areas
Using U.S. Census data, we compared the percentage of households in the region that commute to work by public transit with the percentage of households with an annual income of less than $35,000 per year. Census tracts where 20 percent or more of the population take transit to work appear in a teal shade, while Census tracts where more than 20 percent of households earn less than $35,000 a year appear in a purple color.
Census tracts where transit-using and lower-income households each represent more than 40 percent of households appear in dark purple and tend to be concentrated in the far Northeast and Southeast parts of the District.
More than 200 riders exit nightly at stations on this side of the river in Washington. The Anacostia and Southern Avenue stations, which border Washington, are two of the 10 most-exited stations on average between 11:30 p.m. and midnight on weekdays, according to data provided by Metro.
A higher percentage of
less well-off households
and lower percentage of
transit riders
A higher percentage
of transit riders in
a wealthier area
Glenmont
95
270
Greenbelt
New
Carrollton
495
Largo Town
Center
Branch
Ave.
Franconia
Springfield
Huntington
Ave.
Metrorail
A higher percentage of
households under $35,000
annual income and a high
proportion of commuters
who take transit.
Commuter rail
Metrorail
Commuter rail
A higher percentage of less
well-off households and lower
percentage of transit riders
Shady
Grove
MONTGOMERY
COUNTY
Glenmont
95
270
MARYLAND
A higher percentage
of transit riders in
a wealthier area
Silver
Spring
Greenbelt
Bethesda
Wiehle-Reston
East
New Carrollton
Largo Town
Center
Arlington
495
Vienna
66
PRINCE
GEORGE’S
COUNTY
Branch
Ave.
Alexandria
Huntington
Ave.
FAIRFAX
COUNTY
Franconia
Springfield
A higher percentage of households
under $35,000 annual income
and a high proportion of
commuters who take transit.
VIRGINIA
95
Shady
Grove
A high percentage of less
well-off households and lower
percentage of transit riders
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Glenmont
95
Metrorail
270
Commuter rail
A high percentage
of transit riders in
a wealthier area
Greenbelt
Silver
Spring
Bethesda
MARYLAND
Wiehle-Reston
East
New Carrollton
495
Largo Town
Center
Arlington
Vienna
66
Fairfax
PRINCE GEORGE’S
COUNTY
Alexandria
Branch Ave.
FAIRFAX COUNTY
Huntington
Ave.
Franconia
Springfield
VIRGINIA
A high percentage of households
under $35,000 annual income
and a high proportion of
commuters who take transit.
95
The charts below reinforce what the map tells us — Washington has a higher concentration of low-income, transit-reliant residents than nearby counties in Virginia and Maryland. Many of those Census tracts lie across the Anacostia River.
D.C.
100%
A higher proportion of residents
in Barry Farm/Buena Vista
are lower-income and
transit-dependent
80
60
40
20
0
20
40
60
80
100%
% of households with incomes
under $35,000/year
Maryland
A higher proportion of residents
in this Census tract in Silver
Spring ride transit
While residents
near the University
of Maryland are more
likely to be low-income
20
40
60
80
100
0
Virginia
This Census tract in
Pentagon City has a higher
percentage of transit ridership
than nearby areas
0
20
40
60
80
100
D.C.
Maryland
Virginia
100%
A higher proportion of residents
in Barry Farm/Buena Vista
are lower-income and
transit-dependent
80
A higher proportion of residents
in this Census tract in Silver
Spring ride transit
This Census tract in
Pentagon City has a higher
percentage of transit ridership
than nearby areas
60
While residents
near the University
of Maryland are more
likely to be low-income
40
20
0
20
40
60
80
100%
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
% of households with incomes under $35,000/year
D.C.
Maryland
Virginia
100%
A higher proportion of residents
in Barry Farm/Buena Vista
are lower-income and
transit-dependent
This Census tract in
Pentagon City has a higher
percentage of transit ridership
than nearby areas
80
A higher proportion of residents
in this Census tract in Silver
Spring ride transit
60
While residents
near the University
of Maryland are more
likely to be low-income
40
20
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100%
% of households with incomes under $35,000/year
These census tracts on the east side of the Anacostia River are home to roughly 145,000 residents, almost entirely black, more than half of whom live in households making under $35,000 a year. Residents of Ward 8, much of which lies in this area, have the longest average commutes in the District, with trips taking about 46 minutes, according to districtmobility.org, an initiative of the District Department of Transportation.
Methodology
The isochrones used in this project are created using Mapzen's Mobility Explorer, which uses data from Transitland, which aggregates routes, timetables and other data from local and regional transit networks. Because this uses transit timetables and route data, this analysis will differ from actual performance. The isochrones were generated using schedule data for May 15, 2017 and do not reflect temporary reduced Metro service due to the SafeTrack maintenance program.
Schedules from the following transit operators were used: Alexandria Transit Company, Amtrak, Annapolis Transit, Arlington Transit, Calvert County Public Transportation, DC Circulator, Fairfax City-University Energysaver (CUE) Bus System, Fairfax Connector, Maryland Transit Administration, Montgomery County Department of Transportation, Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, Prince George’s County, Queen Anne’s County, Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland, Virginia Railway Express and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Isochrones were generated for each point of origin minute-by-minute from 5:30 p.m. to 5:59 p.m. for rush hour, and from 11:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. for late-night service. The Mobility Explorer allows choosing the mode of transit and filtering out transit routes from use in generating isochrones. The rush-hour and late-night isochrones use buses and trains, as well as walking. A second set of late-night isochrones were created, filtering out Metro service.
Special thanks to Mapzen’s Greg Knisely, who was very helpful throughout the development process.
Ridership numbers are based on a Post analysis of WMATA average exit data broken down by half-hour time increments, station and service type for October 2016. Weeknights are Monday through Thursday, as Metrorail will remain open late on Fridays.
Demographic numbers are based on an analysis of U.S. Census Data.
Satellite imagery from Landsat was prepared by Laris Karklis.
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