COVID-19 Travel Monitoring Snapshot
An Analysis of Monthly Traffic and Enplanement Data, Pre-pandemic – February 2021
Published: May 2021
These charts were developed to illustrate how the COVID-19 pandemic is
impacting travel in the Metropolitan Washington Region. The charts were
prepared by COG/TPB staff using Continuous Count Station (CCS) data
collected by the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia as well as
enplanement data provided by the Metropolitan Washington Airports
Authority (MWAA) and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. The intention is to
update these charts on a monthly basis as data become available.
The first set of charts display the traffic observed at CCS in the TPB
Modeled Region during the COVID-19 outbreak. The analysis is further
broken down by the jurisdictional groupings of the Core, Inner, and Outer
Rings. A map showing the location of each station is provided for each
jurisdictional grouping. The analysis is limited to the CCS that were
operating and producing reliable data in both 2020/2021 and 2019.
PRE-PANDEMIC COMPARISON YEAR
The most recent pre-pandemic equivalent month is used for comparison
in the monthly charts. The comparison year runs from March 2019 –
February 2020. Traffic data for March – December are compared with
March – December 2019 data and the traffic data for January and
February are compared with January and February 2020 data.
MONTHLY AVERAGE PERCENT CHANGE
The bar charts show the average percent change in traffic volumes
compared to the equivalent pre-pandemic month beginning in March of
2020. The percent change is calculated for each station and those are
averaged for the TPB Region and each of the Core, Inner, and Outer
Rings.
MONTHLY AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC
The Monthly Average Daily Traffic charts show average weekday traffic
volumes using lines and average daily traffic on weekends using
columns. Current traffic is displayed in purple and pre-pandemic traffic
for the corresponding months is shown in green. Total daily traffic
volumes are calculated for each station and the results are averaged by
month for the TPB Region and each of the Core, Inner, and Outer Rings.
AVERAGE HOURLY TRAFFIC
The average hourly traffic charts show hourly traffic volume trends for
each two-month grouping beginning in January 2020. The pre-pandemic
months of January and February are shown in gray and the most recent
months are shown in the darkest gradient of gold. The average weekday
hourly volume by two-month group is calculated for each station and
these are averaged for the TPB Region and each of the Core, Inner, and
Outer Rings.
MONTHLY ENPLANEMENT DATA
The monthly enplanement charts show the total number of enplanements
at each of the Washington/Baltimore area major airports including
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles
International Airport (IAD), and Baltimore Washington International
Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Total monthly enplanements are shown
in blue for each month of 2019, in orange for each month of 2020, and
in purple for 2021.
 Comparison of Traffic at all Continuous Count Stations in the TPB Modeled Region
TPB Region - Average Percent Change from Equivalent Pre-pandemic Month

2020 March, -21.9%

April, -50.5%
May, -37.5%
June, -25.4%
July, -19.8%
August, -19.1%
September, -18.4%
October, -17.2%
November, -18.7%
December, -19.3%
January, -20.9%
February, -26.7%

Monthly Average Daily Traffic at All Active Stations

80,000 Pre-Covid
Weekends
60,000
Current
40,000 Weekends

20,000 Pre-Covid
Weekdays
0
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB Current
2020 2021 Weekdays

Average Hourly Traffic at All Active Stations Pre-Covid

6,000
Mar-Apr
5,000
4,000 May-Jun Regional traffic volumes had recovered to over 80 percent of
3,000 Jul-Aug 2019 volumes by July and continued a slow recovery through
October. Since November, traffic levels have decreased as
2,000 Sep-Oct
compared to their pre-pandemic levels.
1,000
Nov-Dec
0 Hourly traffic volumes region-wide are once again beginning
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Jan-Feb to show clear AM and PM peaks, however at lower levels than
2021
the pre-pandemic AM and PM peaks.

COVID-19 Travel Monitoring Snapshot Pre-pandemic – February 2021 Analysis | page 2

 Comparison of Monthly Traffic in the Core Jurisdictions of the TPB Modeled Region
Regional Core - Average Percent Change from Equivalent Pre-pandemic Month

2020 March, -25.0%

April, -61.1%
May, -51.6%
June, -42.6%
July, -33.9%
August, -30.6%
September, -32.3%
October, -32.5%
November, -31.5%
December, -32.3%
January, -36.6%
February, -39.8%

Monthly Average Daily Traffic at Active Regional Core Stations

70,000
60,000 Pre-Covid
50,000 Weekends
40,000 Current
30,000 Weekends
20,000 Pre-Covid
10,000 Weekdays
0 Current
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB
2020 2021 Weekdays
Traffic in the Regional Core decreased more than that of the
Average Hourly Traffic in Regional Core region as a whole, reaching a low of over 60 percent less
Pre-Covid
4,000 than pre-pandemic levels in April 2020. Regional Core
Mar-Apr traffic continues to experience a slower recovery than the
3,000 region overall. Traffic levels were back down to almost 40
May-Jun
percent lower than pre-pandemic levels in February.
2,000 Jul-Aug
Weekday hourly traffic in the regional core continues to be
Sep-Oct fairly flat with no defined AM and PM peaks.
1,000
Nov-Dec
Please note: Several roads were closed in the District of Columbia
0 Jan-Feb between January 15 and January 21, 2021. These dates were
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021
removed from the analysis for the District counting stations so as not
to skew the results.

COVID-19 Travel Monitoring Snapshot Pre-pandemic – February 2021 Analysis | page 3

 Comparison of Monthly Traffic in the Inner Jurisdictions of the TPB Modeled Region
Inner Ring - Average Percent Change from Equivalent Pre-pandemic Month
2020 March, -24.1%
April, -50.7%
May, -38.6%
June, -26.1%
July, -19.2%
August, -18.5%
September, -19.4%
October, -18.0%
November, -18.9%
December, -18.1%
January, -22.5%
February, -26.8%

Monthly Average Daily Traffic at Active Inner Ring Stations

140,000
120,000 Pre-Covid
100,000 Weekends
80,000 Current
60,000 Weekends
40,000 Pre-Covid
20,000 Weekdays
0
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB Current
2020 2021 Weekdays

Average Hourly Traffic in Inner Ring Pre-Covid

8,000
Mar-Apr
6,000
May-Jun After decreasing by more than 50 percent in April, traffic
4,000 Jul-Aug volumes in the inner suburbs had recovered to over 80
percent of pre-pandemic levels, although fluctuations in
2,000 Sep-Oct
recovery are still being observed. Weekend traffic levels
Nov-Dec have been particularly low as compared with pre-pandemic
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Jan-Feb levels.
2021
Weekday AM and PM peaks are becoming more apparent,
although AM peak traffic continues to be much lower than
pre-pandemic levels in the inner suburbs.

COVID-19 Travel Monitoring Snapshot Pre-pandemic – February 2021 Analysis | page 4

 Comparison of Monthly Traffic in Outer Jurisdictions of the TPB Modeled Region
Outer Ring - Average Percent Change from Equivalent Pre-pandemic Month
2020 March, -20.0%
April, -47.6%
May, -32.5%
June, -19.6%
July, -14.9%
August, -15.4%
September, -13.1%
October, -12.6%
November, -14.8%
December, -16.3%
January, -16.4%
February, -23.5%

Monthly Average Daily Traffic at Active Outer Ring Stations

70,000
60,000
Current
50,000
Weekends
40,000
Pre-Covid
30,000 Weekends
20,000
Current
10,000 Weekdays
0 Pre-Covid
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB
2020 2021 Weekdays

Average Hourly Traffic in Outer Ring Pre-Covid

5,000
Mar-Apr
4,000
May-Jun
3,000 In the outer ring within the TPB Modeled Area, traffic
Jul-Aug
volumes have registered notable recovery. By October
2,000
Sep-Oct 2020, volumes in the outer ring were down only 12.5
1,000 percent compared to the same time in 2019. Traffic levels
Nov-Dec
have decreased in recent months when compared with pre-
0 Jan-Feb pandemic levels. As with the inner jurisdictions, this may be
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021
driven by a decrease in weekend traffic.
The weekday hourly traffic in the outer ring is showing a
trend towards higher levels of midday traffic.

COVID-19 Travel Monitoring Snapshot Pre-pandemic – February 2021 Analysis | page 5

 Monthly Enplanements at Washington/Baltimore Area Airports

Air travel decreased precipitously at the beginning of the COVID-19 Air travel is continuing a slow recovery. October air travel at the region’s
outbreak. Enplanements at Washington/Baltimore area regional airports three major airports reached its highest level since the beginning of the
in April were only four percent of those during April of 2019. pandemic with over one million enplanements. Air travel since October
has been steady at about 31 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Monthly Enplanements Monthly Enplanements at DCA

at Washington/Baltimore Regional Airports 1,400
4,000
Enplanements in Thousands

Enplanements in Thousands
1,200
3,200
1,000
2,400 800

1,600 600
400
800
200
0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021

Monthly Enplanements at IAD Monthly Enplanements at BWI

1,400 1,400
Enplanements in Thousands

Enplanements on Thousands
1,200 1,200
1,000 1,000
800 800
600 600
400 400
200 200
0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021

COVID-19 Travel Monitoring Snapshot Pre-pandemic – February 2021 Analysis | page 6