In 2016, the Commuter Connections program of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) conducted a regional State of the Commute (SOC) Survey, a random-sample telephone survey of employed persons living in the 11-jurisdiction Washington metropolitan region.
One of the jurisdictions covered by the survey was Arlington County, Virginia and the Arlington residents who participated in the survey are the primary focus of this survey analysis. But because the survey also collected data on respondents’ work location, the report (138-page PDF) presents results for respondents who worked in Arlington, regardless of their home location.
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The State of the Commute survey documented commuting behavior, such as commute mode shares and distance traveled, and prevalent attitudes about specific transportation services, such as public transportation, which are available to commuters in the region. The surveys also asked commuters about sources of information on alternative modes, their reasons for choosing alternative modes for commuting, and their awareness and use of commute assistance services that might influence commuting behavior.
The 2016 SOC survey interviewed a total of 5,903 residents across the 11-jurisdiction MWCOG region. The total sample included interviews with 549 Arlington residents and interviews with 449 respondents who worked in Arlington County. These two data sub-sets overlapped for 178 respondents who both worked and lived in the county. The sample sizes and statistical confidence levels for the populations of Arlington residents (Lived in Arlington) and Arlington workers (Worked in Arlington) were 95% + 4.2% and 95% + 4.6% respectively.
COG had conducted SOC surveys in previous years also, on a triennial schedule. When possible and informative, comparisons are shown in this report between the 2016 SOC data and data from surveys conducted in 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2004.
The key findings from the SOC survey includes the following topics:
- Commute patterns
- Commute changes and commute satisfaction
- Telework
- Availability of and attitudes toward transportation options
- Quality of life and transportation satisfaction
- Awareness of commute advertising and commute assistance resources
- Employer-provided commute assistance services
Other resources:
- Blog with Mobility Lab’s short analysis of the report
- Past Arlington-specific reports based on the regional State of the Commute surveys