D.C. Leads Ridership Surge

In any event, those changes are independent of proposed increases in bus and subway fares and parking fees that are scheduled to be the subject of public hearings next week.

A more accurate snapshot of who rides the subway, where they ride and when also helps Metro planners decide where to add escalators, pedestrian walkways and lighting.

If a station is going to be heavily used at night by people who walk rather than drive, Metro and the local governments need to make sure that the paths to heavily trafficked neighborhoods are well lighted and that lines of sight are not blocked by bushes, Bottigheimer said.

Metro is drawing many more Maryland and Virginia passengers from outside its service area. Those riders are taking 12 percent more weekday trips than they did five years ago, with most of those riders living in the Baltimore area and Anne Arundel and Howard counties in Maryland and Prince William, Loudoun and Stafford counties in Virginia.

During the morning rush, more people are walking, taking a bus or biking to stations than did five years ago. Commuters hopping on a Metrobus or other local bus took 52,572 trips during a typical morning rush this past spring, a 26 percent increase from five years ago.

In Alexandria, almost 50 percent of morning rush-hour commuters took the bus to the rail station. In Arlington and the District, close to 70 percent of morning rush-hour riders walked to the train station.

Biking is also much more popular. Those who bike to a Metrorail station are still a tiny percentage of all riders, but they took 1,150 trips during a typical morning rush this past spring, a 60 percent increase from five years ago.

Of Metro's 86 stations, 76 have bike parking. In July, the agency began replacing its older bike racks. The investment in new bike racks could be a cost-effective way to increase ridership, officials said.