The 2025 Travel Monitoring Report provides community members, developers, and policy makers with insights into various aspects of Montgomery County’s transportation system. The 2025 report indicates a returned demand in auto travel and continued investment in roadway safety. The report strives to explore and leverage new alternative transportation datasets and analytical tools that help provide a clearer vision of how the county is meeting its transportation goals, objectives, and metrics defined in Thrive Montgomery 2050, the Pedestrian Master Plan and the Bicycle Master Plan.
- 2025 Travel Monitoring Report
- Appendix
- Travel Monitoring Report Story Map: An interactive snapshot of the county transportation network
- Priority Transportation Improvement Projects: Interactive story map of projects identified through the development of the Travel Monitoring Report
Key Findings of the 2025 Travel Monitoring Report
Travel and Commuting Trends
- There was a returned demand for auto travel in 2023 as residents drove an average of 6,901 miles per person, rebounding from a low of 6,172 miles per person in 2020. Still, travel remained below the pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 7,493 miles per person in 2019.
- The percentage of people who worked from home in 2023 was nearly 20% higher than in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people traveling to work who use a mode other than driving alone increased by 11% over the same period.
- In 2023, the average commute time was 33 minutes one-way for all modes of transportation, including driving, carpooling, and public transit. This is a slight decline from an average of 35 minutes in 2019. The average delay for public transit via bus continues to be longer than that of cars by around 16 minutes, reaching 49 minutes per commute in 2023.
Bicycle Trends and Survey Results
- More than 17 miles of bike facilities were built or were under construction between 2022 and 2024. Projects included sidepaths, separated bike lanes (such as those on Old Georgetown Road), off-street trails (largely the Capital Crescent Trail) and neighborhood connectors.
- The 2024 Pedestrian and Bicycle Survey results show county residents are largely uncomfortable walking, rolling, or riding in their neighborhoods and expressed dissatisfaction with vehicle speed along a roadway (42%), drivers not stopping for pedestrians in a crosswalk (32%), and drivers cutting across a sidewalk while a pedestrian was in it (42%). The top concerns of cyclists included vehicle speed along bike routes (53%), the distance between cars and cyclists on busy streets (48%), and lack of quality bikeways on their route (48%). The survey ran from October to November 2024, and a total of 1,244 respondents completed the survey.
Pedestrian Safety and Comfort Trends
- As of September 2025, over 200 Right Turn on Red prohibition signs were installed in high-density downtown areas, including Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Silver Spring and Wheaton, as well as town centers in Germantown, Glenmont, Twinbrook and White Flint. In addition, Leading Pedestrian Intervals were established at County-controlled intersections in Downtowns and Town Centers to allow residents to begin crossing an intersection at least 3 seconds before the light switches for vehicle traffic.
- Sixty-three percent of pathways, such as sidewalks or trails, provide a comfortable walking or rolling experience for pedestrians, according to an analysis of existing conditions in December 2024. This is an increase of 2% from December 2022. Locations where residents cross the road, including those with and without stop signs or traffic signals, received a 23% comfortable rating in 2023, increasing from 22% in 2022. The Pedestrian Level of Comfort methodology used to conduct this analysis is based on factors such as traffic speed and number of lanes and buffers between pathways and a street.
- In 2024, 65 pedestrians were severely injured or fatality struck by a vehicle, a decrease from 84 pedestrians in 2022