Much attention has been rightly focused on sustained increases in public transit ridership.

Many suggest it is the only justifiable transportation investment.

Travel data compiled by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board for the purposes of air quaility conformity suggests otherwise.

	1990	2010	Difference
Daily Transit Riders	600,000	1.2 million	600,000
Daily Vehicle Trips	12.5 million	22.1 million	9.6 million
Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled	101.9 million	161.1 million	60.8 million

For 2030, the TPB forecasts the following:

	2030	2010-2030 Increase
Daily Transit Riders	1.6 million	400,000
Daily Vehicle Trips	27.3 million	5.1 million
Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled	197.8 million	36.7 million

Doubling the number of daily transit trips in the next ten years (a four-fold increase in the current projection) would still mean that fewer than 10% of daily trips in 2030 would involve public transit.

Increased transit ridership is good news, but the need for major, new, sustained investment in a more robust highway and Potomac River bridge network is greater than ever.