Dana Goldstein gears up:
But as I quickly learned, car ownership remains the norm in D.C. Although a full 12 percent of District residents walk to work—the second highest rate in the nation after Boston—over two-thirds of Washington households own a car. Car-ownership rates have even risen in low-income communities, in part because they are less served by public transportation and taxis. Entire D.C. neighborhoods, such as Georgetown, are inaccessible via Metro, an otherwise excellent subway system. As a result, chores ranging from food shopping to furniture buying are more difficult here for the carless.So one sunny day, I stopped by the local bike shop after work and walked out with a 24-gear hybrid, perfect for both commuting and recreation. In the weeks since, I've saved over $100 on bus and Metro fares; in just a few months, I'll recoup the entire cost of the bike. Even better, I've joined a tight-knit but growing group of bike-commuting enthusiasts. Fewer than half of 1 percent of American commuters bike to work; after all, many parents have to drop kids off at school, some folks have physical handicaps that make it impossible, and the explosion of outer-ring exurbs means many commutes are far too long to bike. But the average American commute remains just 25 minutes in length—bike-able for sure, given accessible streets.
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--The Editors
