Mythbusting DC, The Features

DC Mythbusting: Daytime Population

Photo courtesy of

courtesy of ‘flipperman75’

Now that the snow is melting and the city is returning to normal, let’s focus on a non-snow topic for a change.  Last Friday’s commute from hell showed us all that the city’s transportation network wasn’t quite ready for the influx of commuters going to work. That got me thinking– how many people commute into DC, and how does that compare with other cities?  And does the population of the District really double during the day?

Once again, the Census provides all these answers– so keep in mind this data is almost a decade old, but until we fill out and return our Census forms this spring, it’s the best we can do. The Census tells us that in 2000, 572,059 people lived in the District (and because DC is such an awesome city, more people are moving here– the population was estimated at 588,373 in 2008).  On top of that, over 400,000 more people commute into the District from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania on any given weekday.  That leaves DC’s daytime population in 2000 at 982,853– 172% of its nighttime population.

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Arlington, Talkin' Transit

Talkin’ Transit: Busted

Photo courtesy of tbridge
Busted Ass Bus, courtesy of tbridge

Lately, strikes, cuts and hikes have one thing in common in transit around here. More specifically, the Fairfax Connector, Maryland budget woes, and VRE fare hikes.

Fairfax Connector: Today is Day 2 of the bus driver strike, where drivers are holding out for a new contract with better pension and health benefits. The old contract ended on Sunday.

Yesterday, the first day of the strike, saw 16 routes get canceled and eight others put on a reduced schedule. Servicing over 20,000 commuters a day, the strike only affects the routes serving southern Fairfax County as the striking drivers are from the Huntington garage. The Herndon-based drivers are under a different contract so there is no reduction of service from routes originating there.

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