The Bus System and its Riders Today – Bus Transformation Project

The information below provides a snapshot of who rides local bus services – not just Metrobus, but also ART, CUE, DASH, DC Circulator, Fairfax Connector, Ride On, and TheBus – in the Washington area today. Unless otherwise noted, data is for riders on all of these systems.

Daily Ridership by Time of Day*

Just over half of daily bus trips are made during the morning and evening peak periods, and mid-day trips make up one third of all bus trips.

This pie graph shows how the average regional weekday ridership of 621,000 is spread throughout the day. Three percent of bus trips occur during the early morning, nineteen percent during the morning peak, thirty-four percent of rides are during midday, thirty percent occur during the evening peak, eleven percent occur during the evening, and three percent occur during late night hours.

*AM Early: 4am-6am, AM Peak: 6am-9am, Midday: 9am-3pm, PM Peak: 3pm-7pm, Evening: 7pm-11pm, Late Night: 11pm-4am

Where Bus Riders in the Region Live

DC residents account for over one third of the region’s bus trips, while Montgomery County residents account for nearly one quarter.

This pie chart shows the percentage of regional bus riders that live in each jurisdiction. Twenty three percent live in Montgomery County, Maryland, one percent live in the City of Fairfax, Virginia, ten percent live in Fairfax County, Virginia, five percent live in the City of Alexandria, Virginia, seven percent live in Arlington County, Virginia, twelve percent live in Prince George’s County, Maryland, thirty-seven percent live in the District of Columbia, and six percent live in other or unknown jurisdictions.

Bus Rider Demographics

Bus riders in the region are more likely to live in households that do not have a car, live in low-income households, have limited English proficiency, and be non-white. A profile of Metrobus passenger demographics compared to the region overall is shown below.

This bar graph compares how Metrobus riders compare to the regional population on a number of characteristics. Fifty-two percent of Metrobus riders live in low-income households, compared to five percent of the regional population. Fifty-five percent of Metrobus riders live in households without a car, compared to twelve percent of the regional population. Twenty-eight percent of Metrobus riders live in households with only one car, compared to thirty-six percent of the regional population. Two percent of Metrobus riders are young, compared to twenty-three percent of the regional population. Six percent of Metrobus riders are older adults, compared to twelve percent of the regional population. Twenty-four percent of Metrobus riders have limited English proficiency, compared to eleven percent of the regional population. Eighty-one percent of Metrobus riders are minorities, compared to fifty-eight percent of the regional population (that is, all racial categories except for non-Hispanic white).

Bus Usage Frequency

People who ride the bus at least 12 days per month account for nearly 70 percent of all trips on local bus in the Washington area.

This infographic uses pie charts to show how much bus travel is made by different categories of bus riders. Sixty-nine percent of bus trips are made by frequent bus riders who ride buses twelve or more days per month, or three times per week. Twenty-three percent of bus trips are made by occasional bus riders, who ride buses four to eleven days per month. Nine percent of bus trips are made by infrequent bus riders, who ride buses less than four days per month, or less than once per week.

Bus Trips That Cross Jurisdictional Boundaries

Regional models estimate that, every day, more than 90,000 bus trips are made between different jurisdictions in the region. Cross-jurisdictional bus trips are most common between Montgomery County and D.C. and between Prince George’s County and D.C.

This map of the region uses arrows to show the number of bus trips made between jurisdictions daily. For the purposes of this map, Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, and the City of Falls Church, all in Virginia, are referred to as “Fairfax.” Over eight thousand bus trips occur each day between DC and Montgomery County and from Prince George’s County to DC. More than three thousand bus trips occur each day from Fairfax to Arlington County, from Alexandria to Arlington County, from Alexandria to DC, from Arlington to DC, from DC to Prince George’s County, and from Prince George’s County to Montgomery County. More than a bus trips occur each day between Fairfax and Alexandria, from Arlington County to Fairfax, from Arlington County to Alexandria, from DC to Arlington County, from Fairfax to DC, and from Montgomery County to Prince George’s Counties. More than 100 bus trips occur each day from DC to Fairfax, from Montgomery to Arlington, from DC to Alexandria, from Prince George’s County to Arlington, and from Montgomery County to Arlington. Fewer than 100 bus trips occur each day between Montgomery County and Fairfax, between Fairfax and Prince George’s County, from Montgomery County to Alexandria, from Arlington to Montgomery County, from Arlington to Prince George’s County, and between Alexandria and Prince George’s County.

Data source: MWCOG/NCRTPB Travel Forecasting Model, Round 9.0

The Bus System Stands On Its Own

85% of Metrobus trips are “stand-alone” - that is, they do not involve a transfer to or from Metrorail.