More people avoid cars as workers move closer to jobs

More Washington-area residents are taking bus or rail, walking or telecommuting as a smaller percentage of commuters drive alone or even carpool, according to a new analysis from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

The share of workers relying on bus and rail to get to work increased by about 4 percentage points from 2000 to 2011, the regional agency found when it analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data. That means about 162,000 more people are taking transit regularly.