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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 1-40M: U.S. Passenger-Kilometers (Millions)

Friday, April 14, 2017

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  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 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Air                                                                
Air carrier, certificated, domestic, all services 50,049 85,659 174,520 192,464 307,008 443,959 556,629 544,096 570,938 582,948 625,086 650,033 699,504 725,288 744,730 785,263 829,775 782,956 778,157 813,687 898,327 939,489 947,052 977,779 938,717 887,941 908,788 926,359 934,226 949,018 978,114 1,033,047
Highway, total 2,047,212 2,502,912 3,286,284 3,870,399 4,270,411 4,848,878 5,731,210 5,794,157 5,950,903 6,064,114 6,175,877 6,225,055 6,386,498 6,581,197 6,760,265 6,927,051 7,323,440 7,385,358 7,547,724 7,629,479 7,833,881 7,887,734 7,974,402 8,016,285 7,886,060 6,825,785 6,831,397 6,808,265 6,879,748 6,930,887 7,035,580 7,199,137
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b,c N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N 5,351,032 5,148,478 4,507,134 4,529,562 4,575,485 4,612,480 4,638,407 4,633,149 4,802,569
Passenger carsa,d 1,842,173 2,244,718 2,817,796 3,144,925 3,237,982 3,370,965 3,671,543 3,540,975 3,553,795 3,561,931 3,620,609 3,680,388 3,761,146 3,844,827 3,965,147 4,015,104 5,001,406 5,051,924 5,176,916 5,214,853 5,295,644 5,330,719 5,207,439 N N N N N N N N N
Motorcycleb,c U U 5,274 9,965 19,725 19,009 19,995 18,759 19,226 19,609 19,940 17,344 17,561 17,846 18,203 18,736 24,885 22,729 22,832 23,267 30,607 28,150 39,154 43,731 42,534 36,094 32,091 32,069 37,070 35,304 34,616 33,987
Light duty vehicle, long wheel basea,b,c N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N 1,636,715 1,689,275 1,327,699 1,338,832 1,298,979 1,292,651 1,297,112 1,372,743 1,358,485
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehiclesa,d U U 363,090 584,622 838,104 1,107,376 1,608,947 1,797,569 1,933,896 2,016,283 2,042,728 2,021,571 2,089,410 2,176,919 2,221,791 2,305,586 1,370,778 1,429,314 1,449,525 1,474,098 1,588,837 1,621,635 1,764,987 N N N N N N N N N
Truck, single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or morec 158,602 207,234 43,583 55,693 64,073 73,130 83,527 85,131 86,702 91,366 98,627 100,914 103,114 107,654 109,469 113,143 161,716 166,519 172,710 181,410 179,020 176,602 198,460 193,087 204,153 193,454 178,216 167,055 169,955 171,526 175,904 176,380
Truck, combination 46,436 50,960 56,543 75,195 110,527 125,630 151,827 155,535 160,146 165,949 175,309 185,800 191,349 200,499 206,574 213,051 259,487 271,930 270,719 279,284 278,352 281,841 285,370 296,440 295,839 270,530 282,905 263,597 263,291 271,071 273,315 273,985
Buse U U U U U 152,767 195,371 196,189 197,138 208,977 218,663 219,038 223,918 233,451 239,081 261,430 505,168 442,942 455,024 456,569 461,421 448,787 478,991 495,280 505,782 490,873 469,790 471,080 504,300 517,466 545,852 553,732
Transitf, total U U U U 64,139 63,699 66,213 65,505 64,762 63,382 63,706 64,065 62,739 64,664 66,957 69,651 72,582 74,847 74,184 73,510 74,908 75,840 79,669 83,482 86,441 86,741 84,695 87,433 88,786 90,875 91,752 U
Motor buse U U U U 35,068 34,055 33,766 33,941 32,728 32,584 30,307 30,285 27,040 28,178 28,765 30,069 30,267 31,516 31,670 30,865 30,450 31,261 32,815 32,811 34,115 33,957 33,104 33,086 34,025 34,210 34,487 U
Light railg U U U U 613 563 919 1,065 1,128 1,135 1,341 1,384 1,537 1,647 1,795 1,915 2,156 2,297 2,304 2,375 2,537 2,735 3,003 3,107 3,349 3,534 3,497 3,804 4,005 4,127 4,304 U
Heavy rail U U U U 16,991 16,781 18,467 16,943 17,280 16,465 17,168 16,993 18,556 19,402 19,770 20,764 22,279 22,817 21,989 21,897 23,101 23,203 23,692 25,972 27,117 27,045 26,404 27,868 28,190 28,976 29,514 U
Trolley bus U U U U 352 492 311 314 320 303 301 301 296 304 292 300 309 301 302 283 279 278 264 250 259 270 256 258 261 252 254 U
Commuter rail 6,754 6,643 7,390 7,263 10,486 10,515 11,397 11,819 11,780 11,169 12,868 13,267 13,439 12,935 14,005 14,104 15,128 15,359 15,288 15,378 15,635 15,241 16,671 17,923 17,754 17,911 17,339 18,208 17,897 18,887 18,668 U
Demand responsee U U U U U 586 694 731 797 904 929 977 629 855 826 900 946 1,007 1,048 1,108 1,133 1,188 1,212 1,252 1,358 1,418 1,354 1,362 1,370 1,371 1,390 U
Ferry boath U U U U U U 460 454 436 418 418 418 411 409 451 474 480 475 485 590 575 578 579 613 628 587 626 627 647 647 667 U
Otherh,i U U U U 628 707 200 238 293 404 373 439 830 932 1,053 1,125 1,018 1,074 1,098 1,012 1,199 1,355 1,434 1,555 1,860 2,018 2,116 2,220 2,391 2,405 2,469 U
Rail                                                                
Intercity/Amtrakj 27,462 21,340 9,944 6,326 7,247 7,765 9,748 10,095 9,803 9,976 9,529 8,924 8,127 8,314 8,536 8,578 8,970 8,965 8,590 9,141 8,869 8,660 8,706 9,309 9,943 9,518 10,332 10,570 10,867 11,721 10,742 10,519
Commuter rail 6,754 6,643 7,390 7,263 10,486 10,515 11,397 11,819 11,780 11,169 12,868 13,267 13,439 12,935 14,005 14,104 15,128 15,359 15,288 15,378 15,635 15,241 16,671 17,923 17,754 17,911 17,339 18,208 17,897 18,887 18,668 U
Transit- Light railg U U U U 613 563 919 1,065 1,128 1,135 1,341 1,384 1,537 1,647 1,795 1,915 2,156 2,297 2,304 2,375 2,537 2,735 3,003 3,107 3,349 3,534 3,497 3,804 4,005 4,127 4,304 U
Transit- Heavy rail U U U U 16,991 16,781 18,467 16,943 17,280 16,465 17,168 16,993 18,556 19,402 19,770 20,764 22,279 22,817 21,989 21,897 23,101 23,203 23,692 25,972 27,117 27,045 26,404 27,868 28,190 28,976 29,514 U

KEY: N = data do not exist; R = revised; U = data are not available.

a 1960-2006 data are for Passenger Cars and Other 2-axle, 4-tire vehicles, respectively. Data for 1960-2006 are not comparable to data for 2007-15.

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 In July 1997, the FHWA published revised vehicle-miles data for the highway modes for many years. The major change reflected the reassignment of some vehicles from the Passenger cars category to the Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicles category. This category was calculated prior to rounding.

e Motor bus, intercity bus, transit and demand response figures are also included in the Bus figure for highway. As of 2011, motor bus category includes motor bus, commuter bus and bus rapid transit.

f Prior to 1985, excludes Demand response 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.

g Beginning in 2011, Light rail includes Light Rail, Street Car Rail, and Hybrid Rail.

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

i Other includes Aerial Tramway, Alaska Railroad, Bus Rapid Transit, Cable Car, Commuter Bus, Demand Response - Taxi, Inclined Plane, Monorail/Automated Guideway, Publico and Vanpool.

j 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.

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). Again in March 2011, the methodology and data categories of the Highway Statistics series were updated. The new category Light duty vehicle, short wheel base includes passenger cars, light trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) with a wheel base equal to or less than 121 inches. The new category Light duty vehicle, long wheel base includes large passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs with a wheel base longer than 121 inches. The data are revised with the new methodology back to the year 2000, so the data from 1980-99 are not comparable. In addition, this edition of table 1-40 is not comparable to previous editions.

The FHWA estimates national trends by using State reported Highway Performance and Monitoring System (HPMS) data, fuel consumption data, vehicle registration data, other data such as the R. L. Polk vehicle data, and a host of modeling techniques.

2007 data for Bus, Paratransit (Demand responsive), and Other are not comparable to earlier years due to change in the method of data collection and estimation by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

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.

1 mile = 1.609344 kilometers.

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.

1975-2015: 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/Fields.asp?Table_ID=264 as of Mar. 28, 2017.

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 May 6, 2011.

1995-99: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of May 6, 2011.

Light duty vehicle, short wheel base:

2000-15: 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 Mar. 28, 2017.

Motorcycle:

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

1985-2015: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 28, 2017.

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 May 6, 2011.

1995-99: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of May 6, 2011.

Light duty vehicle, long wheel base:

2000-15: 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 Mar. 28, 2017.

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.

1995-2015: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 28, 2017.

Transit:

Ferryboat:

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

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

1996-2014: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database, Table 19, available at http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/data.htm as of Apr. 26, 2016.

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.

1996-2014: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database, Table 19, available at http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/data.htm as of Apr. 26, 2016.

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.

2003-15: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety Analysis, Operational Data Tables, Mar. 28, 2017.