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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

Table 1-40: U.S. Passenger-Miles

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 1-40: U.S. Passenger-Miles

(Millions)

Excel | CSV

  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Air                                                    
Air carrier, certificated, domestic, all services 31,099 53,226 108,442 (R) 119,591 (R) 190,766 (R) 275,864 (R) 345,873 (R) 338,085 (R) 354,764 (R) 362,227 (R) 388,410 (R) 403,912 (R) 434,652 (R) 450,673 (R) 462,754 (R) 487,940 (R) 518,598 486,506 (R) 483,572 (R) 505,576 (R) 558,166 (R) 583,758 (R) 588,455 (R) 607,551 (R) 583,281 551,732
Highway, total 1,272,078 1,555,237 2,042,002 2,404,954 2,653,510 3,012,953 3,561,209 3,600,322 3,697,719 3,768,066 3,837,512 3,868,070 3,968,386 4,089,366 4,200,634 4,304,270 4,390,076 4,643,793 4,667,038 4,721,869 4,844,452 4,887,945 4,929,366 4,981,088 4,900,171 4,236,384
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b,c 1,144,673 1,394,803 1,750,897 1,954,166 2,011,989 2,094,621 2,281,391 2,200,260 2,208,226 2,213,281 2,249,742 2,286,887 2,337,068 2,389,065 2,463,828 2,494,870 2,544,457 2,556,481 2,620,389 2,641,885 2,685,827 2,699,305 2,671,044 3,324,977 3,199,116 2,797,438
Motorcycleb,c U U 3,277 6,192 12,257 11,812 12,424 11,656 11,946 12,184 12,390 10,777 10,912 11,089 11,311 11,642 11,516 11,760 12,131 12,163 12,855 13,277 15,303 27,173 26,430 22,404
Light duty vehicle, long wheel basea,b,c U U 225,613 363,267 520,774 688,091 999,754 1,116,958 1,201,667 1,252,860 1,269,292 1,256,146 1,298,299 1,352,675 1,380,557 1,432,625 1,467,664 1,678,853 1,674,792 1,706,103 1,780,771 1,804,848 1,876,690 1,017,007 1,049,667 824,151
Truck, single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or morec 98,551 128,769 27,081 34,606 39,813 45,441 51,901 52,898 53,874 56,772 61,284 62,705 64,072 66,893 68,021 70,304 70,500 85,489 75,866 77,757 78,441 78,496 80,344 119,979 126,855 120,163
Truck, combination 28,854 31,665 35,134 46,724 68,678 78,063 94,341 96,645 99,510 103,116 108,932 115,451 118,899 124,584 128,359 132,384 135,020 161,169 138,737 140,160 142,370 144,028 142,169 184,199 183,826 167,842
Busd U U U U U 94,925 121,398 121,906 122,496 129,852 135,871 136,104 139,136 145,060 148,558 162,445 160,919 150,042 145,124 143,801 144,188 147,992 143,816 307,753 314,278 304,386
Transit, totale U U U U 39,854 39,581 41,143 40,703 40,241 39,384 39,585 39,808 38,984 40,180 41,605 43,279 45,100 46,508 46,096 45,677 46,546 47,125 49,504 51,873 53,712 53,898
Motor busf U U U U 21,790 21,161 20,981 21,090 20,336 20,247 18,832 18,818 16,802 17,509 17,874 18,684 18,807 19,583 19,679 19,179 18,921 19,425 20,390 20,388 21,198 21,100
Light rail U U U U 381 350 571 662 701 705 833 860 955 1,024 1,115 1,190 1,339 1,427 1,432 1,476 1,576 1,700 1,866 1,930 2,081 2,196
Heavy rail U U U U 10,558 10,427 11,475 10,528 10,737 10,231 10,668 10,559 11,530 12,056 12,284 12,902 13,844 14,178 13,663 13,606 14,354 14,418 14,721 16,138 16,850 16,805
Trolley bus U U U U 219 306 193 195 199 188 187 187 184 189 182 186 192 187 188 176 173 173 164 156 161 168
Commuter rail 4,197 4,128 4,592 4,513 6,516 6,534 7,082 7,344 7,320 6,940 7,996 8,244 8,350 8,037 8,702 8,764 9,400 9,544 9,500 9,555 9,715 9,470 10,359 11,137 11,032 11,129
Demand responsivef U U U U U 364 431 454 495 562 577 607 391 531 513 559 588 626 651 689 704 738 753 778 844 881
Ferry boatf U U U U U U 286 282 271 260 260 260 255 254 280 295 298 295 301 367 357 359 360 381 390 365
Otherf U U U U 390 439 124 148 182 251 232 273 516 579 654 699 632 668 683 629 745 842 891 966 1,156 1,254
Rail                                                    
Intercity/Amtrakg 17,064 13,260 6,179 3,931 4,503 4,825 6,057 6,273 6,091 6,199 5,921 5,545 5,050 5,166 5,304 5,330 5,498 5,559 5,468 5,680 5,511 5,381 5,410 5,784 6,179 5,914

KEY: R = revised; U = data are unavailable.

a 1960-99 data are for Passenger Cars and Other 2-axle, 4-tire vehicles, respectively. Data for 1960-99 are not comparable to data for 2000-09.

b U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), provides data separately for Light duty vehicle, short wheel base (formerly Passenger car) and Motorcycle in its annual Highway Statistics series. However, the 1995 summary report provides updated data for Light duty vehicle, short wheel base (formerly Passenger car) and Motorcycle combined. Light duty vehicle, short wheel base (formerly Passenger car) figures in this table were computed by U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, by subtracting the most current motorcycle figures from the aggregate Light duty vehicle, short wheel base (formerly Passenger car) and Motorcycle figures.

c 1960-65, Motorcycle data are included in Light duty vehicle, short wheel base (formerly Passenger car), and Long duty vehicle, long wheel base (formerly Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle) data are included in Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more Truck.

d Motor bus and demand responsive figures are also included in the bus figure for highway.

e Prior to 1985, excludes demand responsive and most rural and smaller systems funded via Sections 18 and 16(b)2, Federal Transit Act. The series is not continuous between 1980 and 1985. Transit rail modes are measured in car-miles. Car-miles measure individual vehicle-miles in a train. A 10-car train traveling 1 mile would equal 1 train-mile and 10 car-miles.

f Ferry boat included with Other under Transit for 1980 and 1985.

g National Passenger Railroad Corporation (Amtrak) began operations in 1971. Does not include contract commuter passengers.

NOTES

Air carrier passenger-miles are computed by summing the products of the aircraft-miles flown on each inter airport segment multiplied by the number of passengers carried on that segment. Highway passenger-miles from 1960 to 1994 are calculated by multiplying vehicle-miles of travel as cited by FHWA by the average number of occupants for each vehicle type. Average vehicle occupancy rates are based on various sources, such as the National Household Travel Survey, conducted by the Federal Highway Administration, and the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey, conducted by the Bureau of the Census. Transit passenger-miles are the cumulative sum of the distances ridden by each passenger. Rail passenger-miles represent the movement of 1 passenger for 1 mile.

Highway data for 2007-09 were calculated using a new methodology developed by FHWA. Data for these years are based on new categories and are not comparable to previous years. The new category Light duty vehicle, short wheel base includes passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles with a wheelbase (WB) equal to or less than 121 inches. The new category Light duty vehicle, long wheel base includes large passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles with wheelbases (WB) larger than 121 inches.

In July 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration published revised passenger-miles data for the highway modes for a number of years. The major change reflected the reassignment of some vehicles from the Passenger car category to the Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle category. Passenger-miles for passenger car, motorcycle, and other 2-axle 4-tire vehicles were derived by multiplying vehicle-miles for these vehicles by average vehicle occupancy rates, provided by the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (1977, 1983, and 1995) and the National Household Travel Survey (2001).

Transit data from 1996 and after are not comparable to the data for earlier years or to the data published in previous editions of the report due to different data sources used.

Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

SOURCES

Air:

Air carrier, domestic, all services:

1960: Civil Aeronautics Board, Handbook of Airline Statistics, 1969 (Washington, DC: 1970), part III, table 2.

1965-70: Ibid., Handbook of Airline Statistics, 1973 (Washington, DC: 1974), part III, table 2.

1975-2009: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Air Carrier Summary : T1: U.S. Air Carrier Traffic And Capacity Summary by Service Class, available at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/DL_SelectFields.asp?Table_ID=264&DB_Short_Name=Air%20Carrier%20Summary as of May 10, 2011.

Highway:

Passenger car and motorcycle:

1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, table VM-201A, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

1995-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Light duty vehicle, short wheel base:

2007-09: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Motorcycle:

1970-80: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1985 (Washington, DC: 1986), table VM-201A.

1985-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle:

1970-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, table VM-201A, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

1995-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Light duty vehicle, long wheel base:

2007-09: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Single-unit 2-axle 6-tires or more truck, combination truck, and bus:

1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, table VM-201A, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of May 6, 2011.

1995-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Transit:

Ferryboat:

1992: American Public Transit Association, personal communication, July 19, 2000.

1993-95: American Public Transit Association, personal communication, Aug. 13, 2001.

1996-2009: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database, available at http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/data.htm as of May 9, 2011.

All other data:

1960-1995: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table 2 and similar tables in earlier editions.

1996-2009: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database, available at http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/data.htm as of May 9, 2011.

Rail, Intercity / Amtrak:

1960-80: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: Annual Issues).

1985: Amtrak, Amtrak FY95 Annual Report (Washington, DC: 1996), Statistical Appendix, page 4.

1990-2002: Ibid., Amtrak Annual Report (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), Statistical Appendix.

2003-09: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), page 77.