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Uneven recovery of public transit ridership in the United States by mode, agency size, and region

Author

Listed:
  • Guerrero, Edixon Chacón
  • echaconguerrer@stmarytx.edu
  • Montilla, Rómulo Esteban
  • rmontilla@stmarytx.edu

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic collapsed public transit ridership in the United States, and recovery has been partial and uneven across the sector. Methods: Monthly unlinked passenger trips of every active Federal Transit Administration full reporter were obtained from the National Transit Database Complete Monthly Ridership dataset for 2019 to 2024 and aggregated by year, transit mode, agency size class and Federal Transit Administration region, with 2024 ridership expressed as a percentage of the 2019 baseline. Results: National ridership fell from 9,537.4 million trips in 2019 to a trough of 156.8 million in April 2020 and reached 7,552.9 million in 2024, a recovery of 79.2%. Recovery ranged across modes from 52.6% for commuter bus to 97.7% for demand response and 109.4% for bus rapid transit; bus recovered to 83.7% and heavy rail to 74.9%. Small agencies recovered to 91.6% and large agencies to 78.6%. Recovery ranged from 69.7% in the Great Lakes to 88.1% in the South Central region. Conclusions: Recovery was incomplete and markedly uneven, with rail and commuter-oriented modes and the largest agencies lagging while demand-responsive services and small agencies recovered most fully.

Suggested Citation

  • Guerrero, Edixon Chacón & echaconguerrer@stmarytx.edu & Montilla, Rómulo Esteban & rmontilla@stmarytx.edu, 2024. "Uneven recovery of public transit ridership in the United States by mode, agency size, and region," SAP Transport, Mobility & Society, South American Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwf:tmsart:tms2024110
    DOI: 10.62486/tms2024110
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