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Transit Ridership

Transit ridership has grown steadily since 1995, reaching 9.0 billion unlinked trips (box 7-A) in 2002, an increase of 20 percent (figure 7-3). Between 1992 and 1995, total transit ridership declined 3 percent, and transit ridership growth between 2001 and 2002 (less than 1 percent) was not as strong as it had been between 2000 and 2001 (3 percent) [1].

Among the various types of transit service, bus ridership comprised the majority of unlinked trips (5,268 million) in 2002, having grown 15 percent between 1995 and 2002. However, rail transit ridership, with 3,439 million trips in 2002, posted stronger growth over the period (31 percent). Among the rail components, heavy rail grew 32 percent; light rail, 35 percent; and commuter rail, 21 percent (figure 7-3 and figure 7-4). Heavy-rail ridership posted 2,688 million trips; commuter rail, 414 million trips; and light rail, 337 million trips in 2002. Other modes, such as ferryboats and demand responsive, posted a combined 311 million trips.

Source

1. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Summaries and Trends, Annual Reports, available at http://www.ntdprogram.com, as of May 2004.