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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION BY MODE
U.S. Transit Ridership by Mode (monthly data, not seasonally adjusted)
Excel | CSV
Ridership of heavy rail has been climbing faster than any other mode
of public transportation. Bus ridership is almost 60 percent of total
transit ridership.
| Bus (thousands) |
492,230 |
483,348 |
| Bus ridership percent change from same month previous year |
-2.25 |
-1.80 |
| Heavy rail (thousands) |
241,854 |
229,963 |
| Heavy rail ridership percent change from same month previous year |
-3.05 |
-4.92 |
| Commuter rail (thousands) |
36,298 |
34,593 |
| Commuter rail ridership percent change from same month previous year |
1.79 |
-4.70 |
| Light rail (thousands) |
26,331 |
25,488 |
| Light rail ridership percent change from same month previous year |
0.14 |
-3.20 |
| Trolleybus (thousands) |
10,824 |
9,702 |
| Trolleybus ridership percent change from same month previous year |
-7.08 |
-10.37 |
NOTES: The current value is compared to the value from the same period
in the previous year to account for seasonality.
Numbers are estimates.
According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), an
unlinked transit trip is a trip on one transit vehicle. A person riding
one vehicle from origin to destination takes one unlinked trip; a person
who transfers to a second vehicle takes two unlinked trips; a person who
transfers to a third vehicle takes three unlinked trips. A linked trip
includes all segments on all vehicles used to travel from origin to destination.
APTA estimates that the number of people riding transit on an average
weekday is 45 percent of the number of unlinked transit passenger trips.
Commuter Rail - Railroad local and regional passenger train operations
between a central city, its suburbs, and/or another central city. It may
either be locomotive-hauled or self-propelled, and is characterized by
multitrip tickets, specific station-to-station fares, railroad employment
practices, and usually only one or two stations in the central business
district. Also known as "suburban rail."
Light Rail - An electric railway with a "light volume" traffic capacity
compared to "heavy rail." Light rail may include multicar trains or single
cars. Also known as "Streetcar," "Trolley car," and "Tramway."
Heavy Rail - An electric railway with the capacity of "heavy volume"
of traffic and characterized by exclusive rights-of-way, multicar trains,
high speed and rapid acceleration, sophisticated signaling, and high platform
loading.
Trolleybus - Rubber-tired passenger vehicles operating singly on city
streets. Trolleybuses are propelled by electricity drawn from an overhead
electric line via trolleys.
SOURCE: American Public Transportation Association, APTA Quarterly
Transit Ridership Report, available at: http://www.apta.com/stats/.
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