Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

What is TOD?

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a term used to describe the mix of residential, office, retail, and entertainment land use within a walkable distance of Metro stations on public or privately owned property. TOD transforms urban places in a way that brings transit services, households, employers, and public spaces together with easy walking and cycling connections between them.

Advancing successful TOD requires careful planning to design projects that balance the needs of transit operations and public safety with local land use plans, real estate market conditions, site constraints, and community priorities.

Metro’s Joint Development Program delivers TOD on Metro-owned property and is a key contributor to achieving strategic goals such as:

  • Revitalizing neighborhoods, supporting economic development and generating tax revenue
  • Increasing housing production and affordability
  • Reducing traffic congestion, per capita car ownership and vehicle emissions
  • Safer access and better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists
  • Increasing transit ridership and fare revenue

Key Benefits

Fiscal
Economic
Environmental
Environmental
Mobility
Household Savings and Quality of Life
Fiscal

FISCAL

The 2024 Benefits of Transit report (opens in new window) found that:

  • Land and buildings near Metro stations generate around $3.2 billion in property tax revenues annually. ​
  • Metro stations have twice as many businesses, three times more jobs, and three times more property value than areas without Metro.
  • Over half of the region’s 240,000 businesses—and more than 70% of its 2.5 million jobs—are within a half-mile of a Metro rail station or bus stop.
  • Without transit, the region would lose more than $9 billion worth of economic activity and business output due to heavy traffic congestion, lack of access to jobs, and much slower movement of goods.​

Additionally, Metro reduces total household expenses by reducing transportation costs. Households can save money on both the cost of vehicle operation and car ownership by living close to a Metro station. Metro estimates that the annual savings for families living near Metrorail station and/or bus corridors is $342M annually.

Environmental

ENVIRONMENTAL

TOD is good for the environment. Households and employees adjacent to transit are more likely to use transit, resulting in reduced auto use and lower GHG emissions. In certain areas, building TODs can actually reduce driving by up to 85%.

By 2025, transit will keep about 1.2 million cars off the road every day. Lined up in a row, those cars would stretch from Washington, DC to Alaska. Additionally, Metro estimates that transit avoids an additional 1.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year. That’s the same as if all the households in Arlington, VA didn't use energy for an entire year

Mobility

Household Savings and Quality of Life

TOD creates accessible neighborhoods with amenities that can lead to reduced car ownership. Car ownership costs about $12,000 a year on average. The average cost of a monthly Metro pass is $1,500 a year, so transit saves no-or-car-lite households $10,500 per year. Transit riders save about $2,800 a year by not having to pay for rideshares, taxis, parking, and tolls, too.

Because transit is also 20 times safer than driving a car, transit also improves health. People who ride transit walk as much as 30 minutes more a day, increasing heart health, building muscle, and reducing risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. ​