Release: Happiest commuters? Those who use transit, walking, biking and carpools. Least happy commuters? Those who drive alone

PRESS STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 21, 2026

CONTACT

Bill Pugh, Transportation & Climate Director
bill@smartergrowth.net; (202) 675-0016, ext. 7084

Happiest commuters? Those who use transit, walking, biking and carpools. Least happy commuters? Those who drive alone

2025 State of the Commute Survey results released

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board announced the results of the 2025 State of the Commute Survey, which is conducted every three years by its Commuter Connections program.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) calls out key findings:

DMV area residents who can walk, bike or take other micromobility to work were most satisfied with their commutes in 2025, followed by transit riders and carpoolers. The least satisfied were people who drive alone to work.
Among the multiple personal benefits cited by commuters who take transit, walk, bike or carpool were avoiding stress (23% of respondents) followed by affordability (19%).
The region’s residents have not moved farther out as a result of expanded telework and hybrid work arrangements post-pandemic. Average commute distances and times have remained consistent with those pre-pandemic. This illustrates that people still value homes close to jobs and services even if many can work from home more days per week.

“The most recent State of the Commute survey results show that DMV area commuters are more satisfied when they can walk, bike or take transit to work. This is made possible in area jurisdictions that have invested in transit, safer streets for walking and biking, and mixed-use transit-oriented neighborhoods,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“This is one of the important reasons why we need more housing in walkable, transit-accessible communities,” said Carrie Kisicki, Maryland Housing Advocacy Manager for CSG.

“The reported satisfaction with transit shows the results of great work by WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke, the Board, and staff that has resulted in recent high levels in customer satisfaction and steadily increasing ridership. New bus services and more efficient routes were launched last year, crime and fare evasion are down, and Metrorail shows high reliability. Other transit systems in the region have also shown increased ridership, with some bus systems setting new records,” said Bill Pugh, AICP, CTP, Transportation and Climate Director for CSG.

“But the region can do even more to improve transit. The departments of transportation in Virginia, Maryland and DC all have available tools to increase bus speeds by taking them out of congestion. A regional bus prioritization network, including dedicated lanes, was a key recommendation of the DMVMoves initiative. Our local and state governments need to follow through on this,” said Pugh.

“On the rail side, this means removing barriers to housing near existing rail stations. Allowing more people to live near fast, frequent, reliable rail and bus services is a key transportation solution. It also saves people money. The Housing + Transportation Index shows that people living in transit-accessible neighborhoods have lower combined housing and transportation costs than people living far beyond our transit networks,” said Kisicki.

“We also need more transit. While our region has some transit good projects planned, like completion of the Purple Line and new bus rapid transit lines, our transportation plans continue to prioritize highway expansion. The TPB’s recently adopted Visualize 2050 plan spends $30 billion mostly on expanding highways versus $16 billion expanding transit. This is true even though the Visualize analysis shows that access to jobs will decline for those who are highway dependent while access to jobs will improve for those with access to good transit,” said Pugh.

“The pandemic era predictions by some of doom and gloom for transit and urban living, due to the rise of hybrid work arrangements, did not materialize. The survey shows that distances between homes and workplaces have not increased since before the pandemic. Likewise, we see that housing prices and demand for walkable neighborhoods near transit, jobs and services have only grown. Therefore, the solutions to improving commutes, increasing affordability and reducing climate change pollution, are to expand transit and remove barriers to more housing in the core jurisdictions and suburban locations near transit,” concluded Schwartz.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington, DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to advocate for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the region to grow and provide opportunities for all.

Resources:

Blueprint for a Better Region, interconnected relationship of housing barriers and commutes.A regional transportation plan reinforces the status quo. We can do better, summary of TPB Visualize 2050 long-range transportation plan

Homepage and featured image by Carrie Kisicki