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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Transit Ridership

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Transit Ridership

Monthly data, not seasonally adjusted

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Transit Ridership. If you are a user with disability and cannot view this image, use the table version. If you need further assistance, call 800-853-1351.

According to National Transportation Statistics, in 2009, 6% of workers used public transit as their principal means of getting to their place of work. A higher proportion of workers in urban areas use transit to get to work.

Transit riders in the United States took 9.9 billion unlinked passenger trips in 2010. Approximately 51% of these trips occurred on motor bus, 36% on heavy rail, and roughly four-and-a-half percent each on commuter rail and light rail.

Transit Ridership Feb-11 Feb-12
Motor Bus Ridership (million unlinked passenger trips) 395.5 430.8
Percent change from same month previous year 1.1 8.9
Rapid Transit Ridership (million unlinked passenger trips) 310.3 345.3
Percent change from same month previous year 10.1 11.3
All Other Modes Ridership (million unlinked passenger trips) 57.7 61.9
Percent change from same month previous year 1.5 7.4

NOTES: Motor Bus includes local motor bus, commuter bus, and bus rapid transit. Rapid Transit includes heavy rail, light rail, and streetcar rail. All Other Modes includes commuter rail, demand response and demand response taxi, trolley bus, van pool, ferry boat, monorail and automated guideway, cable car, and inclined plane.

Starting in January 2012, data for Small System Waiver agencies that do not have a mode are reported under Motor Bus. Data reported under the hybrid rail mode are reported under their classifications prior to January 2012.

Data for the most recent two months are estimated for agencies that have yet to report.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database, available at http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ as of April 2012.