Photo by Peter Sigrist on Flickr.

Long commutes lead to political apathy

Research shows that commuting time is inversely correlated with civic engagement. The cause isn’t a lack of time, as working long hours doesn’t have the same effect, but the sheer misery of commuting. (NPR)  

16th Street bus fixes

Buses aren’t immune to the rush-hour parking lot that is 16th Street. A study of traffic signal prioritization is underway, but DDOT and Metro are also considering dedicated bus lanes and an extension of no-parking hours. (WAMU)  

New bus line for National Harbor

Metro’s board approved the addition of the new NH3 line to serve National Harbor. The move is intended to provide transit for workers whose shifts start too early or end too late for Metrorail to be an option. (Post)  

Streetcar optimism, but rough debut

Mayor Gray made a new streetcar launch prediction: “not later than” early February 2014. Meanwhile, the first road test ran into a traffic snarl and took almost an hour to travel 5 blocks. (City Paper, NBC4)  

Shoulder lane on 495

Beltway commuters will get an extra lane, but will it make a difference? The left shoulder of 495 will be a travel lane during rush hour for the 1.5-mile stretch south of the GW Parkway. Existing lanes will shrink by 1 foot. (WTOP)  

Metrorail carpets, begone!

Metro will be removing carpets from all railcars and replacing them with a slip-resistant floor cover.  Lighting in all stations will also upgraded. Both projects will be finished in the next two years. (DCist)  

Transit app debuts in DC

Washington is ground zero for the launch of RideScout, a new app that allows users to compare a variety of transportation options by price and trip time. The service currently supports car2go, CaBi, Hailo, and others. (City Paper)  

Is the party over?

With the federal workforce shrinking and sequestration fights ongoing, will DC’s boom go bust? Or has the region’s economy diversified sufficiently to stand on its own? (Atlantic Cities)  

And…

Thanks to a tax seizure, the DC government now owns a strip club (Post) … A Virginia driver racked up $200k in fines and fees on the Dulles Toll Road (WTOP) … With eight new stations planned, Alexandria’s CaBi network will soon double in size. (Patch) … M Street cycletrack construction will begin next week! (DCist)