Embedded Dataset Excel:

Dataset Excel:

Notes:

Data may not add to total due to independent rounding.

Beginning in 1996, Operating expenses, Number of vehicles, Vehicle miles, Unlinked passenger trips, Passenger miles, Average trip length and Energy consumption data are obtained from Federal Transit Administration and are not comparable with earlier years. 

Beginning in 2002 passenger fare by mode, Other operating revenue and Operating assistance data are obtained from Federal Transit Administration and are not comparable with earlier years.

Incident figures include collisions with vehicles, objects, and people, derailments / vehicles going off the road. Accident figures do not include fires and personal casualties. The drop in the number of injuries and incidents in 2002 is largely due to a change in definitions by the Federal Transit Administration, particularly the definition of injuries. Beginning in 2002, only injuries requiring immediate medical treatment away from the scene qualified as reportable.  

Energy consumption for purchased transport is not included.

Other operating revenue includes other revenue, non-transported funds and dedicated and other directly generated funds.

As of 2007, Federal Transit Authority (FTA) collected and made available data for rural agencies. Based on this survey, American Public Transportation Association reassess the distribution of motor bus and paratransit service. Due to this redistribution, number of motor buses, paratransit (demand responsive), other categories and number of employees for these modes are not continuous from 2006 to 2007.  

Energy consumption, diesel includes bio-diesel.

Description:

KEY:  ~ = included in heavy rail figure; + = included in motor bus figure; kWh = kilowatt hours; N = data do not exist; NA = not applicable; R = revised; U = data are not available; Z = a value too small to report.

^a After 2011, includes hybrid rail, light rail, and street car rail.

^b Excludes international, rural, rural interstate, island and urban park ferries.

^c Includes aerial tramway, automated guideway transit, cable car, inclined plane, monorail, publico, vanpool, jitney and Alaska railroad.

^d Beginning in 1992, local operating assistance and other revenue declined by about $500 million due to a change in accounting procedures at the New York City Transit Authority. Beginning in 1992, total operating expense declined by about $400 million due to a change in accounting procedures at the New York City Transit Authority.

^e Total is not the sum of all modes since many providers operate more than one mode. 

^f Includes locomotives which make up roughly 10 percent of commuter rail vehicles.

^g Based on employee equivalents of 2,080 hours equals one employee; beginning in 1993, based on number of actual employees. Number of employees are operating employees.

^h Liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol, propane, and other nondiesel fuels, except compressed natural gas and bio-diesel fuels.

ⁱ These data are for motor bus, commuter rail, heavy rail, light rail, automated guideway, demand response, and vanpool.

^j Transit highway-rail grade crossing fatalities, injuries, and incidents are the result of public transit rail mode operations excluding commuter rail. Almost all transit highway-rail crossings are light rail crossings. The heavy rail system in Chicago has 5 crossings. For the most part heavy rail operates on rights-of-way that do not include crossings.

^k Beginning in 2002, the Federal Transit Administration changed the reporting threshold for injuries. Before 2002, essentially all injuries had to be reported to the National Transit Database. Beginning in 2002, only those injuries requiring immediate medical attention away from the scene of the incident are required to be reported.  

^l From 2002 through 2007, the Federal Transit Administration defined major incidents as safety and/or security incidents resulting in: a fatality, two or more injuries transported for immediate medical treatment away from the scene, grade crossing collisions with injury or $7500 in total damage, rail transit vehicle collisions resulting in one or more injuries, main-line derailments and evacuations due to life safety reasons. Since 2008, reported property damages were equal to or greater than $25,000 and major incidents were reclassified as reportable incidents requiring one or more injuries transported for immediate medical treatment away from the scene.    

Source:

Financial:

Passenger operating revenues:

1960-2001: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), tables 92 and similar tables in earlier years.

2002-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports), Annual Database Fare Revenue and Operating Funding Time-Series and similar tables in earlier years, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 26, 2024.

Operating expense:

1960-2001: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), table 68 and similar tables in earlier years. 

2002-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports), Operating Expenses and similar tables in earlier years, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 26, 2024.

Average passenger revenue per passenger-mile:

1960-2001: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), tables 45 to 52 and similar tables in earlier years. 

2002-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports), Annual Database Fare Revenue and Annual Database Service and similar tables in earlier years, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 20, 2024.

Average passenger fare, per unlinked trip:

1960-2001: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), tables 45 to 52 and similar tables in earlier years. 

2002-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports), Annual Database Fare Revenue and Annual Database Service and similar tables in earlier years, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 20, 2024.

Inventory:

Number of systems:

American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), table 47, available at https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/transit-statistics/public-transportation-fact-book/ as of Jul. 3, 2024.

Number of vehicles:

American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), table 21, available at https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/transit-statistics/public-transportation-fact-book/ as of Jul. 3, 2024.

Number of employees:

American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), table 18, available at https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/transit-statistics/public-transportation-fact-book/ as of Jul. 3, 2024.

Performance:

Vehicle-miles, Unlinked passenger trips and Passenger-miles:

1960-2008: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), tables 1, 3, and 8, available at https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/transit-statistics/public-transportation-fact-book/ as of Oct. 4, 2019.

2009-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports), Annual Database Service, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 20, 2024.

Average trip length:

1960-2008: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), tables 1, 3, and 8, available at https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/transit-statistics/public-transportation-fact-book/ as of Oct. 4, 2019.

2009-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports), Annual Database Service and similar tables in earlier years, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 20, 2024.

Average vehicle speed:

American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables (Washington, DC:  Annual Issues), table 17, available at https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/transit-statistics/public-transportation-fact-book/ as of Jul. 3, 2024.

Energy consumption, diesel, other and electric power:

1960-95: American Public Transportation Association, 2011 Public Transportation Fact Book Historical Tables, table 29, 30 and 31.

1996-2014: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports),  table 17 as of Sept. 28, 2018. 

2015-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database, (Washington, DC.: Annual Reports), Annual Database Energy Consumption, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 20, 2024.

Safety:

1990-2001: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Transit Safety and Security Statistics and Analysis Annual Report (previously Safety Management Information Statistics - SAMIS) as of Feb. 22, 2010. 

2002-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC.: Monthly Issue), Safety & Security Time Series, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Nov. 20, 2024.