FOIA data reveals patterns of car ownership in DC (opens in new tab)

There are a lot of motor vehicles in Washington. This is visible through easily accessible data and data I obtained by submitting a request to DC’s Department of Motor Vehicles via the Freedom of Information Act. According to 2023 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, 344,088 motor vehicles are registered in DC – 315,319 of which are privately owned (i.e. not owned by a government agency). This roughly aligns with the 310,000 vehicles the Department of Motor Vehicles says are regis...