Washington, DC’s cycling picture combines long-term growth in bicycle infrastructure with changing measures of how residents travel. Bicycle commuting accounted for 2.12% of District workers in the 2021 American Community Survey, while the District’s 2018 bicycle map reported more than 31,400 residents biking to work each day. At the same time, Capital Bikeshare, dockless vehicles, protected lanes, automated counters, and crash studies provide different views of cycling activity and safety.
Contents
- Bicycle commuting in Washington, DC
- Capital Bikeshare scale and planned growth
- Dockless e-bike and shared-mobility use
- Bikeway network and investment
- Cycling crashes and facility safety
- Official bicycle counts and observed riding
Bicycle commuting in Washington, DC
The available commuting statistics cover different years and use different measures, so they should not be treated as one continuous series. WMATA reported that DC bicycle commuting mode share rose from 2.2% to 4.5% over four years, covering 2010–2014. That source is a committee document rather than a current annual estimate. WMATA, Finance & Administration Committee
The District of Columbia Bicycle Map reported more than 31,400 DC residents biking to work daily in its 2018 map edition. The wording is a count of residents and the period is the map edition; it is not interchangeable with a percentage of workers.
The 2021 ACS placed DC’s bicycle-commute share at 2.12% of workers in the District. This estimate is later than the 2010–2014 WMATA comparison, but it measures a different period and comes from a different source and methodology. Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, FY24 Regional TDM Resource Guide and Strategic Marketing Plan Draft Report
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycle commuting mode share | 2.2% to 4.5% | 2010–2014, WMATA report |
| Residents biking to work daily | 31,400+ | 2018 map edition |
| Bicycle-commute share of workers | 2.12% | 2021 ACS |
These figures illustrate why a cycling statistic needs its measurement date and definition attached. A mode-share percentage, a daily resident count, and a historical comparison can describe related activity without being direct substitutes.
Capital Bikeshare scale and planned growth
Capital Bikeshare began as SmartBike DC in August 2008 with 10 stations and 100 bikes, according to the District Department of Transportation’s Capital Bikeshare page. DDOT’s current program description says the regional network has more than 700 stations and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The current station figure is presented as a current-page description accessed in 2026, while the launch figure is historical.
DDOT’s Capital Bikeshare Development Plan Update supplied a constrained six-year forecast for FY2020–FY2025. It projected 331 stations in FY2020 and 380 in FY2025, alongside 6,411 docks in FY2020 and 7,342 in FY2025. The plan called for 81 additional stations and 850 additional bicycles over six years and budgeted $5.45 million for that expansion. These are plan projections and budget assumptions, not a retrospective count of what was ultimately delivered. DDOT, Capital Bikeshare Development Plan Update
The same forecast separated conventional bicycles from e-bikes. It projected 3,304 conventional bicycles in FY2020 and 2,518 in FY2025, while e-bikes were projected to rise from 11 to 1,311. It projected 32 new stations in FY2020 and 17 in FY2025, plus 336 new conventional bicycles in FY2020 and 89 in FY2025. For e-bikes, the plan projected 79 new additions in FY2021 and 89 in FY2025.
Several assumptions explain the structure of that plan. The assumed average new station size was 19 docks. A conventional bicycle was priced at $1,200 and an e-bike at $2,400 for the capital model. The plan estimated that bicycles would last approximately 10,000 trips before replacement. Those values describe the plan’s model and should not be read as current retail prices or observed service life.
In a March 20, 2023 announcement, DDOT said the 9th Street NW project added nearly 700 next-generation e-bikes to the fleet. DDOT, Mayor Bowser Unveils 9th Street NW Protected Bike Lane
Dockless e-bike and shared-mobility use
DDOT’s permitted shared-fleet program recorded more than 5 million dockless trips in FY2022 through August 31. The total included 4,471,276 scooter trips and 585,613 electric-bicycle trips. Together, scooter and electric-bicycle trips covered nearly 6.8 million miles of District streets during that reporting period. DDOT, DDOT Announces New Rulemaking for Shared Fleet Device Permits
The FY2022 program had five permitted operators running dockless scooters and bicycles. DDOT also reported more than 1,000 bike racks installed in the preceding year for the dockless program. The five-operator figure and rack figure belong to that program context and October 14, 2022 announcement, rather than to the current provider list.
The current DDOT Shared Micromobility dashboard reports more than 11 million miles traveled in 2024 and more than 30 million shared-micromobility trips since 2019. Its current page, accessed in 2026, lists three providers serving the District: Hopp, Lime, and Veo. The 2024 mileage and 2019–2024 cumulative trips cover shared micromobility, so they should not be combined directly with the FY2022 electric-bicycle-only count.
Bikeway network and investment
DDOT reported 108 miles of bike lanes in DC on March 20, 2023, including more than 30 miles of protected bike lanes. The same announcement said that in 2015 the District had 63 miles of bike lanes and fewer than 6 miles of protected bike lanes. This gives a dated comparison between the broader bike-lane network and the protected subset. DDOT, Mayor Bowser Unveils 9th Street NW Protected Bike Lane
The 9th Street NW protected bike lane itself spans 1.5 miles. DDOT’s 2023 bike-map update also included five miles of new trails. DDOT, DDOT Releases 2023 DC Bike Map in Celebration of National Bike Month
The first moveDC annual report said DC bike lanes had expanded to more than 100 miles through 2022, with the progress reported in February 2024. Its broader transportation plan contains 41 strategies: 7 were reported 100% complete and 13 were reported at least 60% complete. Those completion figures describe the plan’s reported progress, not a percentage of bike-lane construction. DDOT, First moveDC Annual Report
Funding is also reported separately from lane mileage. The FY2026 DDOT budget presentation allocated $31.8 million to support bike-lane construction. That is a budget allocation for FY2026, not a measurement of miles completed. DDOT, FY 2026 DDOT Budget Presentation
Cycling crashes and facility safety
Historical crash records show why cycling growth and safety should be discussed together. DDOT recorded 281 bicycle crashes, 197 injuries, and 3 fatalities in 2007. DDOT, Washington DC Traffic Safety Report 2005–2007
DDOT’s 2012–2014 crash report said crashes involving bicyclists rose approximately 34% across the three-year period. For calendar year 2014, the report counted 233 bicycle-crash cases classified as complaint but not visible injury, 55 disabling injuries, 1 fatal injury, 287 non-disabling injuries, and 175 cases with no injury. These are report categories and should not be added together as though every category represented the same unit; the report’s classification structure determines how they relate. DDOT, DC Traffic Crash Statistics for 2012–2014
One facility evaluation examined the 16th Street NW, U Street NW, and New Hampshire Avenue NW intersection. It recorded 5 bicycle crashes in the first 13 months after installation, compared with 4 in the previous four years. The evaluation also found that bicyclist volumes on New Hampshire Avenue rose 133% during the morning peak and 185% during the afternoon peak after installation. Motor-vehicle volumes at the evaluated facility fell 1%. DDOT, Bicycle Facility Evaluation: 16th Street NW/U Street NW/New Hampshire Avenue NW
The facility findings are location-specific and compare different time windows. They are useful for understanding observed changes at that intersection, not for estimating crash risk across all of Washington, DC.
Official bicycle counts and observed riding
DDOT currently operates 18 automated counter locations. Of those, 10 count only bikes, 7 count both people biking and walking, and 1 counts only pedestrians. The counters transmit their data every 1 day through an API. DDOT, DC Automated Bicycle and Pedestrian Counters
The counter network describes measurement capacity rather than a citywide riding total. Its 18 locations include different counting scopes, and the presence of an API does not by itself establish that every location measures the same mode or has identical coverage.
The 16th/U/New Hampshire facility evaluation adds behavioral observations. Fewer than 20% of bicyclists used the bicycle signal to cross, while more than 40% crossed via crosswalks. Video found that 82% of bicyclists stopped in the crosswalk rather than the bike box. Fewer than 15% of cyclists using the bike box encountered a motor vehicle stopped in the box. These percentages come from the evaluated facility and the 2010–2012 evaluation period, so they should be read as an intersection study rather than a District-wide behavior estimate.
Together, the automated-counter program and the facility study show two complementary ways to measure cycling: repeated counts at designated locations and detailed observation of how people navigate a particular design. Neither replaces the commuting, bikeshare, infrastructure, or crash statistics; each answers a narrower question about cycling in the District.