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Commuting patterns across the D.C. region are settling into a post-pandemic routine, with employees returning to offices more often while hybrid work remains firmly established.

Nearly half of surveyed workers — 48% — said they work from home at least one day per week, according to the 2025 State of the Commute report. That was down from 65% in 2022 but remained well above the 34% recorded in 2019.

“We seem to be approaching a much more settled ‘new normal,’” Dan Sheehan, transportation operations program director for the Transportation Planning Board, said during a Jan. 21 meeting.

The 164-page report draws on surveys of more than 7,500 employed adults across the region conducted from March through June 2025. Produced every three years, it is the first report in the series to examine local commuting patterns after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite its decline from pandemic-era levels, telework eliminated an estimated 3.3 million daily work trips in 2025. Sheehan said that continues to help reduce congestion.

The shift also presents challenges. Fewer office workers can hurt businesses in commercial corridors and reduce annual ridership for Metro, Virginia Railway Express and local bus systems, particularly because many employees stay home on Mondays and Fridays.

“It is very hard for transit systems to design and operate for three days a week,” said Kanthur Srikanth, deputy director for metropolitan planning at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. “They have to be there all days a week.”

Srikanth said employees also appear to be spending less time at the office when they make the trip.

“More and more people are just coming into the office for just a few hours,” he said. “For transportation planners, these things matter.”

Federal telework drops sharply

Working remotely for most of the week has become much less common. Among respondents who telework, 35% said they did so at least three days per week, compared with 75% in 2022.

The decline was driven partly by return-to-office requirements that the Trump administration announced for federal employees at the beginning of 2025.

Only 23% of surveyed federal workers reported teleworking for at least part of the week in 2025, a steep drop from 79% in 2022. The latest surveys were conducted after the new requirement took effect.

Private-sector telework declined more modestly, from 62% in 2022 to 51% in 2025. Among state and local government workers, the rate fell from 48% to 40%.

Driving remains dominant — and unpopular

Across all commuter trips during a typical workweek, 57% involved driving a personal vehicle to the office, nearly unchanged from 58% in 2019.

Transit accounted for 22% of trips, down from 24%, while telework represented 15%, up from 10%. Walking, bicycling and scooter use increased from 3% to 4%, while carpooling and vanpooling declined from 5% to 3%.

The report also examined how commuters felt about their trips. Pedestrians and bicyclists reported the highest satisfaction rate, at 86%, followed by Metrorail riders at 62% and commuter-rail passengers at 58%.

Satisfaction stood at 51% among carpool and vanpool users and 50% among bus riders. Solo drivers ranked last, with only 44% saying they were satisfied.

Lindsay Haake of Commuter Connections, the consultant that compiled the report, said the results create an opening for regional leaders to promote alternatives to driving.

“Commuters emphasize comfort, predictability and stress reductions,” she said.

Neil Harris, a Greenbelt City Council member who chaired the Jan. 21 meeting, said one lesson was the need to rebuild awareness of commuting options among people who abandoned public transportation for driving during the early pandemic recovery.

“A lot of data here, a lot to digest,” Harris said.

Regional planners expect to conduct a deeper analysis during the coming year. Srikanth said leaders in member jurisdictions will also receive reports tailored to their communities.