We’re excited to announce the 2024 update of our interactive dashboard, offering a deep dive into national transit ridership data! This dashboard unveils transit ridership trends from the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database (NTD) to provide a clear picture of how ridership has evolved across the United States.
Following the Recovery Route
The dashboard allows you to explore ridership trends since 2011, highlighting the steep drop in ridership in 2020 and significant ridership gains starting in 2021 as commuters returned to public transit post-pandemic.
A Shift in Gears
However, the dashboard also reveals an interesting shift. While ridership continued to increase in 2024, the rate of growth slowed compared to the previous two years. This suggests a plateauing or moderation in the recovery trend, prompting further analysis into the factors influencing ridership choices.
Unveiling the Data Landscape
Our dashboard empowers you to:
- Explore ridership trends by year: See how transit ridership has changed over time for buses, heavy rail, light rail, and more.
- Drill down by agency: Investigate ridership patterns for specific transit agencies.
- Compare across regions: Analyze how the ridership recovery varies by metropolitan area.
Keep the bigger picture in mind!
We invite you to explore the dashboard and play with the data. Ridership is a key metric for many agencies and a good indicator of demand and the quality of the service being offered. However, keep in mind that ridership is just one dimension of many. There are many benefits to public transportation that come even when relatively few people use it.
