Transit agencies in the United States are at a critical juncture, with revenue and funding unable to keep up with the rising costs of growth and innovation, note partner Anthony Shorris and coauthors. For example, on average, ridership and fare revenue remain well below prepandemic levels. Before the pandemic, monthly ridership had already declined by 5 to 10 percent. But the pandemic exacerbated this trend, and passenger levels have since stagnated at about 80 percent of prepandemic norms. The shift to remote and hybrid work is one reason for the reduced demand, and transit agencies need to adapt to meet their communities’ evolving needs and to avoid a potential fiscal cliff.
Image description:
A line graph illustrates the trend in US transit ridership, measured in millions of unlinked passenger trips, from 2002 to 2024. One line represents monthly figures, showing a fluctuating pattern with peaks and dips throughout the years. The second line depicts the annual average ridership, highlighting a general upward trend from ~680 million trips in 2002 to ~750 million trips before experiencing a sharp decline in 2020, to ~350 million trips during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although ridership has seen some recovery since its lowest point in 2020, the annual average in 2024 was ~550 million trips, well below prepandemic levels. The period between the Great Recession and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic shows a relatively stable annual average ridership, ranging between ~750 million to ~800 million trips.
Source: National Transit Database, Federal Transit Administration.
Note: This image description was completed with the assistance of Writer, a generative AI tool.
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To read the article, see “Finding a route to fiscal stability for US transit agencies,” December 13, 2024.