Spencer Ainsworth
@sp-ainsworth.bsky.social
Mostly DC transit and biking content
First streatery coming down on Mt Pleasant St 😢
November 23, 2025 at 8:58 PM
First streatery coming down on Mt Pleasant St 😢
Great (but sad) article about the death of streateries! I’m reminded of a day in June when I stumbled across a NACTO walking tour where DDOT trumpeted the success of the original streatery program. Praying we get a new mayor who will stand aside and let DDOT planners cook again!
November 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Great (but sad) article about the death of streateries! I’m reminded of a day in June when I stumbled across a NACTO walking tour where DDOT trumpeted the success of the original streatery program. Praying we get a new mayor who will stand aside and let DDOT planners cook again!
Walking into the Columbia Heights Crosstown open house I hear “…so the podcast hosts have this new book out called Life After Cars…”
Definitely the most pro-urbanist crowd I’ve seen at a DDOT open house! Scenario 2 is about to be my whole personality
Definitely the most pro-urbanist crowd I’ve seen at a DDOT open house! Scenario 2 is about to be my whole personality
November 5, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Walking into the Columbia Heights Crosstown open house I hear “…so the podcast hosts have this new book out called Life After Cars…”
Definitely the most pro-urbanist crowd I’ve seen at a DDOT open house! Scenario 2 is about to be my whole personality
Definitely the most pro-urbanist crowd I’ve seen at a DDOT open house! Scenario 2 is about to be my whole personality
Imagine choosing to drive to the airport
October 17, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Imagine choosing to drive to the airport
Love the integration of RTD ticketing with the Transit app! Still wish WMATA had gone the route of partnering with them rather than investing the resources to build MetroPulse
October 17, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Love the integration of RTD ticketing with the Transit app! Still wish WMATA had gone the route of partnering with them rather than investing the resources to build MetroPulse
The cost of leaving a bike undocked in this program has gone from $0 to $2 (though there's also a $40 monthly ride credit to pay fees and e-bike costs). This theory is further supported by the trend I documented last month that undocked e-bike ridership decreased the most in low-income areas of DC
October 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
The cost of leaving a bike undocked in this program has gone from $0 to $2 (though there's also a $40 monthly ride credit to pay fees and e-bike costs). This theory is further supported by the trend I documented last month that undocked e-bike ridership decreased the most in low-income areas of DC
What might be driving this? The member e-bike rate increased 50% from $0.10 to $0.15/min but the additional fee for leaving a bike undocked remained at $2. My suspicion is that this is partially explained by changing ridership by members of the low-income Capital Bikeshare for All program.
October 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
What might be driving this? The member e-bike rate increased 50% from $0.10 to $0.15/min but the additional fee for leaving a bike undocked remained at $2. My suspicion is that this is partially explained by changing ridership by members of the low-income Capital Bikeshare for All program.
Breaking down CaBi ridership by member vs non-member, e-bike vs classic, and docked vs un-docked is where some interesting trends emerge. Look at what's happening with undocked and docked member e-bike rides!...
October 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Breaking down CaBi ridership by member vs non-member, e-bike vs classic, and docked vs un-docked is where some interesting trends emerge. Look at what's happening with undocked and docked member e-bike rides!...
CaBi ridership may be down, but citywide*, total micromobility (MM) usage is at an all-time high! There were 71k daily combined CaBi and MM rides in Sept, the highest ever. (data from Ride Report)
*FYI, I didn't clip CaBi data to DC boundaries (DC typically accounts for ~75% of rides)
*FYI, I didn't clip CaBi data to DC boundaries (DC typically accounts for ~75% of rides)
October 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
CaBi ridership may be down, but citywide*, total micromobility (MM) usage is at an all-time high! There were 71k daily combined CaBi and MM rides in Sept, the highest ever. (data from Ride Report)
*FYI, I didn't clip CaBi data to DC boundaries (DC typically accounts for ~75% of rides)
*FYI, I didn't clip CaBi data to DC boundaries (DC typically accounts for ~75% of rides)
It's been a good ride but Capital Bikeshare's 44 month YoY streak of growth is over. Just 625k rides in Sept vs 665k in Sept '24, a 6% decline. It's easy to point to the Federal occupation and bad vibes in DC, but after breaking down ridership trends, I think the Aug price increase is to blame
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October 13, 2025 at 1:05 PM
It's been a good ride but Capital Bikeshare's 44 month YoY streak of growth is over. Just 625k rides in Sept vs 665k in Sept '24, a 6% decline. It's easy to point to the Federal occupation and bad vibes in DC, but after breaking down ridership trends, I think the Aug price increase is to blame
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Release the Illustrator files
September 29, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Release the Illustrator files
WMATA moved fast on the bus decals!
September 17, 2025 at 9:25 PM
WMATA moved fast on the bus decals!
“We’re saying goodbye to the single-family home,” Persaud said. “We had a funeral service to say our goodbyes and to look around, because a lot of these people here won’t be here when all this development starts.”
bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/11/c...
bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/11/c...
September 12, 2025 at 7:03 PM
“We’re saying goodbye to the single-family home,” Persaud said. “We had a funeral service to say our goodbyes and to look around, because a lot of these people here won’t be here when all this development starts.”
bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/11/c...
bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/11/c...
This map shows the change in undocked ridership from July to August where blue is an increase and bright yellow is a >50% decline. Undocked ebike ridership increased in much of Ward 3 and plummeted in Wards 4, 7, and 8!
September 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
This map shows the change in undocked ridership from July to August where blue is an increase and bright yellow is a >50% decline. Undocked ebike ridership increased in much of Ward 3 and plummeted in Wards 4, 7, and 8!
For non-members, this increase makes CaBi less competitive compared to other providers like Lime. At $0.49/minute for Lime, the break-even point for an undocked CaBi ride is now around 20 min compared to 6 min before the change (the new member pricing is the same as the old non-member pricing)
September 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
For non-members, this increase makes CaBi less competitive compared to other providers like Lime. At $0.49/minute for Lime, the break-even point for an undocked CaBi ride is now around 20 min compared to 6 min before the change (the new member pricing is the same as the old non-member pricing)
Any trends across different stations? Here's where things get a bit interesting. On the face of it, there aren't clear trends - a decline around foggy bottom (more layoffs? end of intern season?), but nothing else that stands out. What's interesting is all the green you see even though ridership....
September 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Any trends across different stations? Here's where things get a bit interesting. On the face of it, there aren't clear trends - a decline around foggy bottom (more layoffs? end of intern season?), but nothing else that stands out. What's interesting is all the green you see even though ridership....
By the width of a spoke, Capital Bikeshare's 44 month YoY streak of ridership gains continues! 639k rides in August vs 614k last year, an increase of just 4% (in spite of the very dry weather!). The price increase is likely to blame - below I discuss how ridership patterns are changing 1/
September 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
By the width of a spoke, Capital Bikeshare's 44 month YoY streak of ridership gains continues! 639k rides in August vs 614k last year, an increase of just 4% (in spite of the very dry weather!). The price increase is likely to blame - below I discuss how ridership patterns are changing 1/
whoa new CaBi station just south of 16th and Park! Already almost empty of course!
September 1, 2025 at 9:36 PM
whoa new CaBi station just south of 16th and Park! Already almost empty of course!
14th St (Newton St to Arkansas Ave): Back in October 2023 in the concept selection letter, construction was planned for 2024. Over the last two years no updates have been posted and construction is now planned for 2026
September 1, 2025 at 7:46 PM
14th St (Newton St to Arkansas Ave): Back in October 2023 in the concept selection letter, construction was planned for 2024. Over the last two years no updates have been posted and construction is now planned for 2026
Columbia Heights Crosstown: at the needs assessment presentation in October 2024, construction was planned for 2026. Since last October no progress has been made and construction is now planned for 2027
September 1, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Columbia Heights Crosstown: at the needs assessment presentation in October 2024, construction was planned for 2026. Since last October no progress has been made and construction is now planned for 2027
Florida Ave: during the kick-off in May 2023, construction was planned for 2025. Since the concept selection in fall 2023, no progress has been made and construction is now TBD
September 1, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Florida Ave: during the kick-off in May 2023, construction was planned for 2025. Since the concept selection in fall 2023, no progress has been made and construction is now TBD
More typical bunching shenanigans on 16th st but this pic also made me realize that this bus lane isn’t actually useful - the D60 and D6X both turn left onto K st so by the time they pass the M st stop they’re moving to the left lane
August 26, 2025 at 11:51 PM
More typical bunching shenanigans on 16th st but this pic also made me realize that this bus lane isn’t actually useful - the D60 and D6X both turn left onto K st so by the time they pass the M st stop they’re moving to the left lane
From this past weekend…Bladensburg Waterfront Park is such a hidden gem as a transit accessible spot for cheap kayak rentals and equally good birdwatching and Acelawatching
August 12, 2025 at 11:30 PM
From this past weekend…Bladensburg Waterfront Park is such a hidden gem as a transit accessible spot for cheap kayak rentals and equally good birdwatching and Acelawatching
I’m generally a light rail (in the US) and BRT (everywhere) skeptic but when it’s common to see 4 buses (2 articulated) bunched together on a line with dedicated bus lanes and all are packed, we’ve gotta start looking at increasing capacity
August 12, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I’m generally a light rail (in the US) and BRT (everywhere) skeptic but when it’s common to see 4 buses (2 articulated) bunched together on a line with dedicated bus lanes and all are packed, we’ve gotta start looking at increasing capacity
705k riders in July made it Capital Bikeshare’s second-highest month ever and represented a 20% YoY increase! Compared to past years when it broke records, July 4 ridership was high (>25k) but not really high - the following Friday on July 11 was actually the peak for the month
August 7, 2025 at 12:23 PM
705k riders in July made it Capital Bikeshare’s second-highest month ever and represented a 20% YoY increase! Compared to past years when it broke records, July 4 ridership was high (>25k) but not really high - the following Friday on July 11 was actually the peak for the month