Introduces the transit modes discussed throughout the NTST.
National statistics and trends in ridership, miles of service and number of transit systems by mode.
Trends in operating costs by mode and measures of cost efficiency and effectiveness.
National trends for safety, maintenance reliability and lift equipped bus fleet.
Trends in miles between major system failures.
Trends in the percentage of buses that are ADA lift- or ramp-equipped.
Funding sources used in transit, trends in recovery ratio and subsidy per passenger.
Funding sources used in capital projects and capital expenditures by mode.
Trends in the average fleet age of the national bus fleet.
Trends in fixed guideway mileage for bus and rail systems.
Trends in the percentage of the national bus fleet using alternative fuels and the share of fuel type used by non-electric transit vehicles.
Aggregate data for capital, operating funding and expenses, and characteristics for all modes operated in the nation.
Aggregate data grouped by urbanized area. Items include operating expense, vehicle revenue miles, fixed-guideway directional route miles, passenger miles and recovery ratio.
Aggregate data reported to the NTD.
Data used to develop graphics for data not presented with graphic.
Key characteristics and uses of capital by transit agencies.
Welcome to the National Transit Summaries and Trends (NTST), a portion of the Federal Transit Administrations (FTA) annual report. The goal of the NTST is to summarize transit data in an easy to read format and layout. The 2002 NTST discusses data covering the 1991 to 2002 period.
On an average weekday, the nations transit systems carry over 33 million riders (unlinked passenger trips). There were 9 billion riders in 2002.
The NTST presents aggregate transit operating statistics by mode. Fifteen transit modes are included in the National Transit Database, but for this publication, statistics are presented for the predominant modes: bus, heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, demand response and vanpool. These modes provided the most transit service and change over the time frame considered, 1991 through 2002. The remaining modes are combined in the single category other. Transit modes include the following:
Heavy rail service is characterized by high-speed and rapid acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multi-car trains on fixed electric rails; separate rights-of-way from which all other traffic is excluded; sophisticated signaling, high platform loading and a heavy passenger volume.
The most common form of mass transit service provided throughout the United States. Buses operate on fixed routes and schedules over existing roadways. Buses must be in compliance with mass transit rules including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provisions.
Local (short-distance) travel operating between a central city and adjacent suburbs. Service is provided on regular schedules, moving commuters within urbanized areas or between urbanized areas and outlying areas. Multi-trip tickets and specific station-to-station fares characterize commuter rail service, with one or two stations in the central business district.
Service (passenger cars, vans or small buses) provided upon request to pick up and transport passengers to and from their destinations. Typically, a vehicle may be dispatched to pick up several passengers at different pick-up points before taking them to their respective destinations and may be interrupted en route to these destinations to pick up other passengers.
Light rail is an electric railway with a lighter passenger volume compared to heavy rail. Passenger cars operating singly (or in short, two-car trains) on fixed rails in shared or exclusive right-of-way, low or high platform loading characterizes light rail service. The vehicles power is drawn from an overhead electric wire.
Service operating under a ride sharing arrangement providing transportation to individuals traveling directly between their homes and a regular destination. The vehicles (vans, small buses, and other vehicles) must have a minimum seating capacity of seven. Vanpool(s) must also be in compliance with mass transit rules including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provisions, be open to the public, availability must be advertised and the service must be operated by a public entity or a public entity must own, purchase or lease the vehicle(s)
Rounding may lead to minor variations in total values from one table to another for similar data or may lead to instances where percentages may not add to 100. Due to rounding, percent changes may not match exactly the values calculated using the formatted figures shown in the exhibits.
All dollar amounts are the actual figures reported and have not been adjusted to reflect inflation for the timeframe considered (32 percent from 1991 through 2002).
For information about National Transit Database publications and training, see FTAs website at
http://www.fta.dot.gov
or visit the National Transit Database website at
http://www.ntdprogram.com
Federal funds applied to transit are Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Urbanized Area Formula Program funds (financial assistance used to offset operating costs and pay for capital projects).
Unlinked passenger trips are the number of patrons boarding public transportation vehicles.
Unlinked
passenger trips reached a record high in 2002 providing over 9.0 billion trips.
Ridership increased by 21.3 percent from 1993 to 2002. During the same period,
Federal assistance applied to transit increased by nearly 89 percent.
Transit agencies that receive or benefit from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Urbanized Area Formula Program funds (capital or operating) are required to report selected transit data to the National Transit Database (NTD) program. In addition, transit agencies not receiving FTA funds are encouraged to submit data, providing a more complete picture of public transit throughout the United States. These transit agencies report financial (capital and operating) data and non-financial operating statistics by transit mode. A total of 613 transit agencies reported data in 2002.
| Year |
Bus (*) | Commuter Rail | Demand Response (*) |
Heavy Rail | Light Rail | Vanpool |
Other |
| 1991 |
16 |
331 |
12 |
15 |
21 |
24 | |
| 1992 |
400 |
16 |
340 |
13 |
16 |
26 |
26 |
| 1993 |
407 |
17 |
363 |
14 |
17 |
26 |
26 |
| 1994 |
'05 |
17 |
378 |
14 |
19 |
27 |
28 |
| 1995 |
390 |
15 |
370 |
14 |
19 |
23 |
28 |
| 1996 |
392 |
15 |
376 |
14 |
20 |
27 |
28 |
| 1997 |
401 |
16 |
390 |
14 |
20 |
27 |
26 |
| 1998 |
427 |
16 |
408 |
14 |
20 |
32 |
28 |
| 1999 |
437 |
18 |
413 |
14 |
20 |
40 |
33 |
| 2000 |
433 |
19 |
416 |
14 |
21 |
42 |
31 |
| 2001 |
448 |
21 |
432 |
14 |
23 |
43 |
31 |
| 2002 |
456 |
19 |
423 |
14 |
23 |
42 |
31 |
| Change |
60 |
3 |
92 |
2 |
8 |
21 |
7 |
Vehicle Revenue Miles
Vehicle revenue miles are the miles a transit vehicle travels while in revenue service. A transit vehicle is in revenue service when the vehicle is available to the public with the expectation of carrying passengers. Passengers pay full fares, reduced fares (senior citizen, student, special ride fares, etc.), or provide payment through some contractual agreement.
Deadhead travel is not included in vehicle revenue miles. Deadhead mileage consists of the miles a transit vehicle travels while not in revenue service (leaving or returning to the garage or yard or changing routes).
Vehicle revenue miles increased by nearly 37 percent between 1991 and 2002. Modes showing the most significant growth are those that had an increase in the number of systems in operation during the period.
| Year |
Vehicle Revenue Miles (Millions) |
|
1991 |
2,499.3 |
| 1992 |
2,537.5 |
| 1993 |
2,593.2 |
| 1994 |
2,679.5 |
| 1995 |
2,732.4 |
| 1996 |
2,750.6 |
| 1997 |
2,853.3 |
| 1998 |
2,970.4 |
| 1999 |
3,111.4 |
| 2000 |
3,202.4 |
| 2001 |
3,319.0 |
| 2002 |
3,426.8 |
| % Change | 37.1% |
Ridership
was at an all time high (9.1 billion trips) in 2002 surpassing record ridership
in 2001. Ridership increased by nearly 20 percent from 1995 to 2002.
The share of vehicle revenue miles for demand response has steadily increased from just under 7 percent in 1991 to 15 percent in 2002 while the share of vehicle revenue miles for bus decreased from 62 percent to 54 percent.
At
the same time, the share of unlinked passenger trips for demand response remained
below 1 percent, illustrating the low capacity nature of this service, while the
share of unlinked passenger trips for bus decreased from nearly 62 percent in
1991 to 58 percent in 2002.
Urbanized areas (as defined by the U.S. Census) are geographic areas with a population of 50,000 or more. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 465 urbanized areas. For National Transit Database purposes, the NTST groups urbanized areas by three size categories:
National Transit Database data are highly concentrated in large urbanized areas. The reported data most heavily concentrated in large urbanized areas are:
Operating expenses are those expenses incurred by transit agencies that are associated with operating mass transportation services (vehicle operations, maintenance, and administration). Reconciling items are expenses where accounting practices vary in the way transit agencies handle them due to local requirements. The NTST excludes reconciling items such as depreciation, interest expenses, leases and rentals.
Operating expenses increased nearly 49 percent over the last 12 years, a rate higher than inflation over the same period (32 percent). The modes showing the highest increases were light rail, demand response and vanpool. These increases reflect the addition of new systems during the same period.
*Note: Vanpool data not represented above: 1991 - $5.3, 1992 - $10.1, 1993 - $13.6, 1994 - $14.9, 1995 - $17.0, 1996 - $17.8, 1997 - $22.7, 1998 - $28.4, 1999 - $31.6, 2000 - $32.2, 2001 - $34.2, 2002 - $38.6
Operating expense data is reported by mode, function and object class. Function refers to the activity performed or cost center of a transit agency. Object class refers to groupings of expenses on the basis of goods or services purchased. The four functions are:
The transit industry is labor intensive. Salaries, wages, and fringe benefits account for nearly 80 percent of the total directly operated expenditures. Fifty-two percent of total expenditures are devoted to vehicle operations.
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Cost effectiveness is the relationship between service inputs and service consumption.
Service input is the quantity of resources expended to produce transit service, expressed in either monetary or non-monetary terms. Examples include operating cost (dollars expended for operations, maintenance and administration), employee hours (total operating, maintenance or administration), capital investment and energy (fuel cost or volume).
Service consumption is the amount of service used by the public expressed in either monetary or non-monetary terms. Examples include unlinked passenger trips, passenger miles and operating revenue.
Overall, operating expense per unlinked passenger trip increased 27.6 percent over the last 12 years, a rate nearly 4 percent less than inflation (32 percent). The only modes with increases greater than inflation were demand response and vanpool. Both are low capacity modes that experienced substantial increases in ridership over the period, requiring even greater increases in miles and hours of service.
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| Year |
Operating Expense (Millions) |
Unlinked Passenger Trips (Millions) | Operating Expense per Unlinked Passenger Trip |
| 1991 |
$15,404.0 |
7,738.1 |
$1.99 |
| 1992 |
$15,499.3 |
7,696.2 |
$2.01 |
| 1993 |
$15,473.0 |
7,432.7 |
$2.08 |
| 1994 |
$16,320.0 |
7,701.6 |
$2.12 |
| 1995 |
$16,181.6 |
7,503.7 |
$2.16 |
| 1996 |
$16,301.9 |
7,564.6 |
$2.16 |
| 1997 |
$16,962.0 |
7,954.2 |
$2.13 |
| 1998 |
$17,580.0 |
8,115.1 |
$2.17 |
| 1999 |
$18,781.2 |
8,523.2 |
$2.20 |
| 2000 |
$20,008.7 |
8,719.9 |
$2.29 |
| 2001 |
$21,528.8 |
9,007.8 |
$2.39 |
| 2002 |
$22,905.1 |
9,016.7 |
$2.54 |
| % Change | 48.7% |
16.5% |
27.6% |
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Cost efficiency is the relationship between service inputs and service outputs.
Service output is the quantity of service produced by a transit operator, expressed in non-monetary terms. Examples include vehicle hours (total and revenue), vehicle miles (total and revenue), capacity miles (total vehicle capacity times revenue mileage), service reliability (miles between system failures) and safety (number of accidents).
Overall, operating expense per vehicle revenue hour increased by approximately 8 percent over the last 12 years (inflation not factored into the rate).
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Year |
Operating Expense (Millions) |
Vehicle Revenue Hours (Millions) |
Operating Expense per Vehicle Revenue Hour |
|
1991 |
$15,404.0 |
166.5 |
$92.52 |
| 1992 |
$15,499.3 |
170.7 |
$90.80 |
| 1993 |
$15,473.0 |
174.9 |
$88.47 |
| 1994 |
$16,320.0 |
180.3 |
$90.52 |
| 1995 |
$16,181.6 |
183.3 |
$88.28 |
| 1996 |
$16,301.9 |
184.1 |
$88.55 |
| 1997 |
$16,962.0 |
189.9 |
$89.32 |
| 1998 |
$17,580.0 |
197.8 |
$88.87 |
| 1999 |
$18,781.2 |
206.9 |
$90.77 |
| 2000 |
$20,008.7 |
215.7 |
$92.77 |
| 2001 |
$21,528.8 |
223.0 |
$96.56 |
| 2002 |
$22,905.1 |
230.2 |
$99.50 |
| % Change |
48.7% |
38.3% |
7.5% |
Service effectiveness is the relationship between service outputs and service consumption.
Unlinked passenger trips per vehicle revenue hour decreased by 16 percent from 1991 to 2002. This was due to increased service supplied for bus mode in low density urbanized areas and increased demand for low capacity modes such as demand response and vanpool.
Year |
Unlinked Passenger Trips (Millions) |
Vehicle Revenue Hours (Millions) |
Unlinked Passenger Trips per Vehicle Revenue Hour |
|
1991 |
7,738.1 |
166.5 |
46.5 |
| 1992 |
7,696.2 |
170.7 |
45.1 |
| 1993 |
7,432.7 |
174.9 |
42.5 |
| 1994 |
7,701.6 |
180.3 |
42.7 |
| 1995 |
7,503.7 |
183.3 |
40.9 |
| 1996 |
7,564.6 |
184.1 |
41.1 |
| 1997 |
7,954.2 |
189.9 |
41.9 |
| 1998 |
8,115.1 |
197.8 |
41.0 |
| 1999 |
8,523.2 |
206.9 |
41.2 |
| 2000 |
8,719.9 |
215.7 |
40.4 |
| 2001 |
9,007.8 |
223.0 |
40.4 |
| 2002 |
9,016.7 |
230.2 |
39.2 |
| % Change |
16.5% |
38.3% |
-15.7% |
A fatality is defined as a transit-caused death confirmed within 30 days following an accident.
Fatalities are categorized according to six categories of individuals:
Passengers: A person who is on board a transit vehicle or who is boarding / alighting, including those using ramps and lifts.
Transit Facility Occupants: A person who is inside the public passenger area of transit revenue facility. Employees, other workers, or trespassers are not transit facility occupants.
Employees: An individual who is compensated by the transit agency.
Other Workers: A person who is neither employed by the transit agency, nor a purchased transportation (PT) provider, who is contracted to provide specific services to the transit agency.
Trespassers: A person in an area of the transit property that is prohibited for public use.
Others: A person who is neither a passenger, a transit facility occupant, an employee, an other worker, nor a trespasser.
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|
Year |
Total | Year |
Total |
|
1995 |
146 |
1999 |
181 |
| 1996 |
169 |
2000 |
182 |
| 1997 |
171 |
2001 |
160 |
| 1998 |
181 |
2002 |
159 |
Distribution of Fatalities
Most
victims in transit-related accidents are non-passengers. Passenger fatalities
account for 6 percent of all fatalities (excluding suicides).
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A major failure is a failure of a mechanical or electrical component of a revenue vehicle that prevents the vehicle from completing a scheduled revenue trip, or from starting the next revenue trip because actual movement is limited, or because of safety concerns.
Mechanical failures include, but are not limited to: the breakdown of air equipment, brakes, doors, engine cooling system, steering and front axle, rear axle and suspension and torque converters.
Vehicle miles are the total miles that a vehicle travels while in service (actual vehicle revenue miles and deadhead miles). See Transit in the United States for definitions of vehicle revenue miles and deadhead miles.
Due to changes in the definition of major and minor system failures over the years, only the years 2001 and 2002 are shown in the NTST.
Miles
between major system failures increased in 2002 by 13 percent and may be related
to a reduction in the bus average fleet age.
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| Year |
Major System Failures |
Vehicle Miles (Millions) |
Vehicle Miles (Millions) Between Major System Failures |
| 2001 |
296,480 |
1,913.4 |
6,453.8 |
| 2002 |
261,342 |
1,905.2 |
7,290.1 |
| % Change | -11.9% |
-0.4% |
13.0% |
The American with Disabilities Act requires transit agencies be accessible to individuals with special needs. For the NTST, buses fall into the following categories:
Historically, type "C" buses have comprised the largest percentage of lift- or ramp-equipped vehicles, currently showing a 99 percent level of compliance. This is expected due to this class' low average fleet age.
Note:
Data are not available prior to 1993.
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Operating
funds are the funds transit agencies receive from Federal, state, local and directly
generated sources that are applied for operating expenditures. These funds are
applied in the year in which they resulted in liabilities for benefits received
whether or not receipt of the funds actually took place within the report year.
Federal
funds are financial assistance used to defray some of the operating costs to provide
transit service.
Operating
funds applied to transit operations increased 58.6 percent, a rate greater than
inflation during the period (32 percent).
Note:
Capital funds used to pay for operating expenses can no longer be determined due
to reporting changes introduced in 2002. In past years capitalized operating funds
were shown under Capital Investment. They are now included in the Funding Transit
Operations section, and the data for the period from 1998-2001 has been revised
to be consistent with the 2002 data.
Note:
Capital funds used to pay for operating expenses can no longer be determined due
to reporting changes introduced in 2002. In past years capitalized operating funds
were shown under Capital Investment. They are now included in the Funding Transit
Operations section, and the data for the period from 1998-2001 has been revised
to be consistent with the 2002 data.
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Fare revenues are funds earned carrying passengers in regularly scheduled service. It includes the base fare, zone premiums, express service premiums, extra cost transfers and quality purchase discounts applicable to the passenger's ride.
Recovery
ratio (also known as working ratio) is the percentage of operating expenses paid
through fare revenues.
After
a period of increase and then decrease over a 6-year period recovery ratio is
back to the same level as 1991. Agencies in urbanized areas over 1 million population
account for most of the decrease.
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Subsidies are financial assistance received from Federal, state and local governments. Subsidies also include directly generated funds including: grants from private foundations, directly levied taxes and other funds dedicated to transit.
Subsidy per passenger increased approximately 46 percent over the last 11 years, while the rate of inflation was 32 percent.
Medium and small urbanized areas had a rate of increase greater than the rate for large urbanized areas. This is due in part to the expansion of fixed route service in low density areas combined with the expansion in demand response services. Demand response accounts for a substantial portion of the service provided in medium and small urbanized areas.
Note: Capital funds used to pay for operating expenses can no longer be determined due to reporting changes introduced in 2002. In past years capitalized operating funds were shown under Capital Investment. They are now included in the Funding Transit Operations section, and the data for the period from 1998-2001 has been revised to be consistent with the 2002 data.
Operating
funding sources include:
Other
funds include non-transportation funds, subsidies from other sectors of operations,
auxiliary transportation funds, charter service, freight tariffs, school bus funds
and directly levied taxes.
For
large urbanized areas, fare revenues, Federal assistance and other funding shares
remained stable from 1991 to 2002. State and Local assistance switched ranks,
and State funds were the second highest funding source after fare revenues in
2002.
There
was a decrease in the total funding applied to operations for medium and small
urbanized areas. This decrease is related to the shifting of agencies from small
to medium, and from medium to large urbanized areas with the 2000 US Census data.
Small
and medium urbanized areas are more dependent upon operating subsidies than large
urbanized areas. Fare revenues account for approximately 20 percent for these
areas.
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Capital funds are the funds that the transit agencies receive from Federal, state, local and directly generated sources and applied to capital projects. Directly generated sources include any funds generated or donated directly to the transit agency including passenger fares, advertising revenues, donations and grants from private donations. It also includes directly levied taxes and other funds dedicated to transit. Directly levied taxes constitute the bulk of directly generated capital funds applied to transit.
Capital investment increased by nearly 140 percent over the last 12 years, while inflation rose 32 percent. The role of the Federal government has been stable during the same period, accounting in average for approximately 50 percent of all capital invested in transit.
Note: Capital funds used to pay for operating expenses are not included.
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Federal assistance per unlinked passenger trip increased by 66 percent from 1991 - 2002.
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Capital
Expenditures
Uses
of capital were reported until 2001 by mode in three major categories:
For
the NTST, all exhibits depicting Uses of Capital showed rolling stock, and combined
into a single category, facilities and other.
Starting
in the 2002 report year, Uses of Capital categories were expanded and the rolling
stock, facilities and other categories were broken down into more specific categories
detailed below:
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Large
and medium-sized urbanized areas operate almost all rail systems in the nation
and guideway and facilities account for a significant portion of the overall capital
costs.
For
small urbanized areas, bus and demand response are the most common modes. Thus,
most uses of capital are revenue vehicles and facilities.
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Bus
systems dedicate less capital to revenue vehicles than rail systems. Generally,
rail systems are located in high-density corridors within the larger metropolitan
areas of the United States. The high levels of service supplied in these areas
require large investments in transit infrastructure (e.g. track, signals and communication
systems, complex maintenance facilities, passenger stations, inter-modal terminals,
real time data acquisition systems and other cost intensive items).
Bus
systems do not require the same level of investment in infrastructure as rail.
Therefore, revenue vehicles are the main use of capital for bus.
Note:
Data are not available for 1991 and prior years.
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Large,
medium, small and articulated buses are rubber tired passenger vehicles powered
by diesel gasoline, electric battery or other alternative fuel engines.
The
average fleet age of type A and type C buses have been stable over the last 11
years, while the average fleet age of medium buses decreased 17.6 percent.
The
average fleet age of articulated buses dropped significantly in the last 4 years
(from 11.2 years old in 1998 to 5.8 years old in 2002).
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The
share of articulated buses 5 years old or less increased from 23.5 percent in
1998 to 64.7 percent in 2002.
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Fixed
guideway directional route miles are the miles in each direction that public transit
travels while in revenue service on fixed guideways (not high occupancy vehicle
lanes, transit malls, bus ways, or railtrack).
Fixed
guideway mileage is a measure of the route path over a facility of roadway, it
does not measure the service carried on the facility. This mileage is computed
with regard to direction of service and is recorded without regard to the number
of traffic lanes or rail tracks existing on the right-of-way.
Bus
fixed guideway directional route miles increased by nearly 160 percent over the
period, while rail modes increased 35 percent.
Note:
The figure for Rail Modes 1991 - 2002 was adjusted to include only the portion
of Alaska Railroad reported to the NTD as public transportation.
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Alternative
fuels are not diesel or gasoline. They include compressed natural gas, electric,
battery, ethanol, methanol, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, kerosene,
bio-diesel, grain substitute and other fuels.
The
share of the national bus fleet using alternative fuels rose from 1.2 percent
in 1992 to 10.2 percent in 2002.
