BOX 6-A - National Transit Data

A large amount of transit data including the number of passenger-miles of travel (pmt) are available from both the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). FTA's National Transit Database (NTD) is based primarily on information reported by transit agencies that receive or benefit from Urbanized Area Formula Program funds. These data are supplemented with information from transit agencies that do not receive FTA funds but voluntarily submit data. A total of 622 transit agencies reported data in 2003. Data available from APTA combine FTA's information with information from transit operators that do not report to the NTD (private, very small, and rural operators). The result is APTA's national pmt estimate, which is typically about 5 percent higher than the estimate provided by FTA.