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Transit Profile

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FINANCIAL

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Passenger operating revenues1, total ($ millions) 1,407 1,707 6,510 16,053 17,968 18,241 19,151 19,515 21,062 22,220 24,243 25,288 26,632 28,021 29,718 31,708 U
Operating revenues, total 1,407 1,707 2,805 6,786 9,027 9,613 10,345 10,854 11,654 11,930 12,963 12,471 13,251 14,215 14,735 15,252 U
Passenger fares, total 1,335 1,639 2,556 5,891 6,756 6,801 7,416 7,546 7,970 8,282 8,746 8,891 8,649 9,149 9,775 10,269 U
Motor bus N N N 2,967 3,250 3,287 3,515 3,558 3,991 4,175 4,376 4,357 4,106 4,270 4,547 4,764 U
Heavy rail N N N 1,741 1,976 2,018 2,322 2,351 2,297 2,323 2,483 2,533 2,493 2,654 2,903 3,007 U
Light rail N N N 83 135 127 144 139 150 164 181 204 226 229 233 249 U
Trolley bus N N N 46 55 54 55 57 55 60 60 60 59 54 55 57 U
Demand responsive N N N 41 171 146 157 170 142 159 172 182 194 244 254 286 U
Ferryboata N N N 56 41 60 54 51 41 48 60 71 78 99 111 114 U
Commuter rail N N N 952 1,083 1,078 1,146 1,178 1,255 1,309 1,375 1,439 1,447 1,552 1,615 1,728 U
Otherb N N N 6 46 31 24 43 38 46 41 47 46 47 57 64 U
Other operating revenue 72 68 248 895 2,271 2,812 2,928 3,308 3,685 3,648 4,217 3,580 4,602 5,065 4,960 4,983 U
Operating assistancec, total N N 3,705 9,267 8,941 8,628 8,807 8,661 9,408 10,290 11,280 12,817 13,382 13,807 14,983 16,456 U
State and local N N 2,611 8,297 8,026 7,811 8,210 8,014 8,656 9,418 10,286 11,688 12,063 12,190 12,898 14,152 U
Federal N N 1,093 970 916 817 596 647 751 872 994 1,130 1,319 1,616 2,086 2,303 U
Operating expenses2, total ($ millions) 1,377 1,996 6,711 15,742 17,920 17,849 18,341 18,936 19,739 20,512 22,646 23,517 24,834 26,852 28,506 30,295 U
Motor bus N N N 8,903 10,144 10,321 10,575 10,944 11,429 11,714 12,966 13,335 14,066 15,240 16,022 16,787 U
Heavy rail N N N 3,825 3,786 3,523 3,402 3,474 3,530 3,693 3,931 4,180 4,268 4,446 4,734 5,145 U
Light rail N N N 237 413 376 442 473 500 546 606 682 778 815 887 978 U
Trolley bus N N N 109 133 139 135 140 147 167 178 172 187 183 185 196 U
Demand responsive N N N 518 943 1,000 1,187 1,285 1,405 1,419 1,805 1,754 1,949 2,363 2,524 2,828 U
Ferryboata N N N 171 200 210 183 221 214 238 268 324 354 355 358 350 U
Commuter rail N N N 1,939 2,228 2,211 2,294 2,278 2,361 2,575 2,685 2,861 3,003 3,179 3,442 3,663 U
Otherb N N N 41 73 69 124 122 153 160 206 208 229 (R) 270 353 348 U
Average passenger revenue per passenger-mile3, all modes ($) N N N 0.14 0.17 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.19 0.20 0.21 U
Motor bus N N N 0.14 0.17 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.20 0.20 0.21 0.20 0.19 0.20 0.21 0.22 U
Heavy rail N N N 0.15 0.19 0.19 0.20 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.20 0.20 0.21 U
Light rail N N N 0.14 0.16 0.15 0.15 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.14 0.16 0.16 0.15 0.15 U
Trolley bus N N N 0.24 0.29 0.29 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.32 0.31 0.32 0.32 0.30 0.32 0.33 U
Demand responsive N N N 0.09 0.30 0.24 0.24 0.23 0.19 0.20 0.20 0.21 0.23 0.26 0.26 0.27 U
Ferryboata N N N 0.20 0.16 0.23 0.21 0.17 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.22 0.23 0.25 0.28 0.29 U
Commuter rail N N N 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.14 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.17 0.18 U
Otherb N N N 0.05 0.20 0.11 0.07 0.12 0.09 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.11 0.10 U
Average passenger fare, per unlinked trip4, all modes ($) 0.14 0.22 0.30 0.67 0.85 0.87 0.93 0.89 0.91 0.90 0.93 0.92 0.89 0.97 1.02 1.02 U
Motor bus N N N 0.52 0.62 0.66 0.70 0.70 0.74 0.74 0.77 0.74 0.70 0.72 0.75 0.78 U
Heavy rail N N N 0.74 0.90 0.99 1.08 0.97 0.96 0.92 0.94 0.93 0.93 1.00 1.06 1.07 U
Light rail N N N 0.47 0.66 0.50 0.55 0.53 0.54 0.56 0.57 0.61 0.67 0.68 0.67 0.65 U
Trolley bus N N N 0.36 0.47 0.45 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.50 0.49 0.50 0.46 0.49 0.52 0.54 U
Demand responsive N N N 0.60 2.04 2.26 2.21 1.83 1.49 1.59 1.64 1.73 1.87 2.14 2.17 2.22 U
Ferryboata N N N 1.11 0.87 1.31 1.12 0.99 0.80 0.91 1.13 1.32 1.36 1.50 1.69 1.69 U
Commuter rail N N N 2.90 3.19 3.13 3.24 3.30 3.29 3.31 3.32 3.44 3.49 3.79 3.90 4.08 U
Otherb N N N 0.90 1.28 1.57 1.33 0.66 1.02 0.76 0.66 0.75 0.77 0.91 1.04 1.02 U

INVENTORY

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Number of systemsd, 5, total 1,286 1,096 1,055 5,078 5,973 5,973 5,973 5,975 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 5,804 6,429 6,429 U
Motor bus 1,236 1,075 1,022 2,685 2,250 2,250 2,250 2,250 2,262 2,262 2,262 2,264 2,264 1,982 1,500 1,500 U
Heavy rail 31 15 11 12 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 U
Light rail ~ ~ 9 17 22 22 22 22 23 24 25 26 27 27 29 29 U
Trolley bus 19 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 U
Demand responsive N N N 3,193 5,214 5,214 5,214 5,214 5,254 5,252 5,252 5,251 5,251 5,346 5,960 5,960 U
Ferryboata N N 16 27 25 25 25 25 28 30 33 42 42 46 47 47 U
Commuter rail N N 18 14 16 16 16 18 18 20 19 21 20 21 21 22 U
Otherb N N 5 35 69 69 69 70 72 81 81 82 82 86 85 87 U
Number of vehicles 6, total 65,292 61,298 75,388 93,430 116,416 116,341 122,750 126,473 124,048 128,937 131,241 134,789 135,107 138,290 143,822 150,827 U
Motor bus 49,600 49,700 59,411 58,714 68,123 67,107 71,678 72,770 72,142 74,228 75,013 76,075 76,190 77,328 81,033 82,027 U
Heavy rail 9,010 9,286 9,641 10,567 10,282 10,166 10,243 10,228 10,296 10,362 10,311 10,718 10,849 10,754 10,858 11,110 U
Light rail 2,856 1,262 1,013 910 1,051 1,048 1,114 1,078 1,076 1,180 1,327 1,371 1,448 1,482 1,622 1,645 U
Trolley bus 3,826 1,050 823 610 643 695 675 655 646 657 652 600 616 672 597 615 U
Demand responsive N N N 16,471 28,729 29,352 30,804 32,509 29,646 31,884 33,080 34,661 34,699 35,954 37,078 41,958 U
Ferryboata N N N 108 110 110 109 134 113 112 119 125 125 131 160 171 U
Commuter raile N N 4,500 4,982 5,126 5,164 5,240 5,426 5,536 5,550 5,498 5,572 5,724 5,959 6,228 6,392 U
Otherb N N N 1,068 2,352 2,699 2,887 3,673 4,593 4,964 5,241 5,667 5,456 6,010 6,246 6,909 U
Number of employeesf, 7, total 156,400 138,040 189,300 262,176 294,087 300,491 314,944 320,759 327,752 337,885 347,841 357,266 360,722 (R) 337,982 345,871 345,458 U
Motor bus 121,300 101,598 N 162,189 174,373 181,973 190,152 196,861 198,644 204,179 211,095 214,674 214,825 205,478 212,122 217,332 U
Heavy rail 35,100 36,442 N 46,102 51,062 45,644 45,793 45,935 45,163 46,311 47,087 47,865 48,464 48,327 47,211 47,806 U
Light rail + + N 4,066 5,140 4,935 5,728 5,940 6,024 6,058 6,572 7,021 7,598 7,619 8,184 8,181 U
Trolley bus + + N 1,925 1,848 1,871 2,084 2,037 2,053 2,140 2,223 2,008 2,027 1,964 1,928 1,942 U
Demand responsive N N N 22,740 35,450 39,882 44,667 44,029 48,406 51,186 52,021 55,846 56,746 42,935 43,642 46,624 U
Ferryboata N N N 2,813 2,764 2,697 2,830 3,166 3,894 4,024 2,682 4,731 5,336 5,434 5,862 5,737 U
Commuter rail N N N 21,443 22,596 22,320 22,604 21,651 22,488 22,896 23,518 23,851 24,391 24,813 25,296 25,321 U
Otherb N N N 898 854 1,169 1,086 1,140 1,080 1,091 2,643 1,270 1,335 (R) 1,414 1,626 1,516 U

PERFORMANCE

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Vehicle-miles8, total (millions) 2,143 1,883 2,287 3,242 3,468 3,550 3,650 3,746 3,794 3,972 4,081 4,196 4,277 4,363 4,471 4,601 U
Motor bus 1,576 1,409 1,677 2,130 2,162 2,184 2,221 2,245 2,175 2,276 2,315 2,377 2,411 2,421 2,471 2,485 U
Heavy rail 391 407 385 537 532 537 543 558 566 578 595 608 621 630 642 646 U
Light rail 75 34 18 24 34 35 38 41 44 49 53 54 61 64 67 69 U
Trolley bus 101 33 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 13 14 14 13 13 U
Demand responsive N N N 306 464 507 548 585 671 718 759 789 803 864 890 978 U
Ferryboata N N 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 U
Commuter rail N N 179 213 231 238 242 251 260 266 271 277 284 286 295 303 U
Otherb N N 13 16 30 34 42 49 63 69 71 75 80 81 88 103 U
Unlinked passenger trips9, total (millions) N 7,332 8,567 8,799 7,949 7,763 7,948 8,374 8,750 9,168 9,363 9,653 9,623 9,434 9,575 9,815 U
Motor bus N 5,034 5,837 5,677 4,871 4,848 4,887 5,013 5,399 5,648 5,678 5,849 5,868 5,692 5,731 5,855 U
Heavy rail N 1,881 2,108 2,346 2,169 2,033 2,157 2,430 2,393 2,521 2,632 2,728 2,688 2,667 2,748 2,808 U
Light rail N 124 133 175 284 251 261 262 276 292 320 336 337 338 350 381 U
Trolley bus N 182 142 126 118 119 117 121 117 120 122 119 116 109 106 107 U
Demand responsive N N N 68 88 88 93 99 95 100 105 105 103 111 114 125 U
Ferryboata N N 63 50 47 47 48 51 52 53 53 54 57 66 65 66 U
Commuter rail N N 280 328 339 344 352 357 381 396 413 419 414 410 414 423 U
Otherb N N 4 29 33 33 33 41 37 38 40 43 40 43 47 51 U
Passenger-miles10, total (millions) N N 39,854 41,143 39,585 39,808 41,378 42,339 44,128 45,857 47,666 49,070 48,324 47,903 49,073 49,678 U
Motor bus N N 21,790 20,981 18,832 18,818 19,096 19,604 20,360 21,205 21,241 22,022 21,841 21,262 21,377 21,825 U
Heavy rail N N 10,558 11,475 10,668 10,559 11,530 12,056 12,284 12,902 13,844 14,178 13,663 13,606 14,354 14,418 U
Light rail N N 381 571 833 860 957 1,035 1,128 1,206 1,356 1,437 1,432 1,476 1,576 1,700 U
Trolley bus N N 219 193 187 187 184 189 182 186 192 187 188 176 173 173 U
Demand responsive N N N 431 577 607 656 754 735 813 839 855 853 930 962 1,068 U
Ferryboata N N N 286 260 260 256 294 294 310 330 325 333 394 393 394 U
Commuter rail N N 6,516 7,082 7,996 8,244 8,351 8,038 8,704 8,766 9,402 9,548 9,504 9,559 9,719 9,473 U
Otherb N N 390 124 232 273 348 369 441 469 462 518 510 499 518 639 U
Average trip length11, all modes (miles) N N N N 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 U
Motor bus N N N N 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 U
Heavy rail N N N N 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 U
Light rail N N N N 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 U
Trolley bus N N N N 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 U
Demand responsive N N N N 7 8 9 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 U
Ferryboata N N N N 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 U
Commuter rail N N N N 24 24 24 23 23 22 23 23 23 23 24 22 U
Vanpool N N N N 32 35 34 33 36 34 35 33 37 33 31 34 U
Otherg N N N N 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 U
Average vehicle speed12, all modes (miles per hour) N N N N 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 U
Motor bus N N N N 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 U
Heavy rail N N N N 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 21 20 20 U
Light rail N N N N 14 14 14 16 16 15 15 15 15 16 16 15 U
Trolley bus N N N N 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 8 7 U
Demand responsive N N N N 14 15 15 15 17 15 15 15 15 15 14 15 U
Ferryboata N N N N 8 6 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 8 8 U
Commuter rail N N N N 34 34 33 34 32 33 29 32 32 32 32 32 U
Vanpool N N N N 33 35 37 36 37 38 31 39 38 33 38 38 U
Otherg N N N N 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 7 6 7 U
Energy consumption, diesel13, total (million gallons) 208 271 431 651 678 678 693 717 740 763 786 745 725 713 731 730 U
Motor bus N N N 563 565 564 578 598 607 618 635 587 559 539 550 534 U
Heavy rail NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA U
Light rail NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA U
Trolley bus NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA U
Demand responsive N N N 15 30 29 31 32 38 43 48 55 62 70 73 82 U
Ferryboata N N N 20 21 22 22 24 25 29 32 30 31 32 35 37 U
Commuter rail N N N 53 62 63 62 63 69 73 71 72 73 72 72 77 U
Otherb N N N < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 U
Energy consumption, other14, total (million gallons) 192 69 11 34 65 71 76 83 90 93 103 112 132 146 165 181 U
Gasoline and other nondiesel fuelsh 192 68 11 33 60 61 61 59 53 49 48 46 51 46 53 58 U
Compressed natural gas U U U U 5 11 15 24 37 44 55 66 81 100 112 123 U
Energy consumption, electric power15, total (million kWh) 2,908 2,561 2,446 4,837 5,081 5,068 5,007 4,988 5,073 5,237 5,510 5,610 5,649 5,643 5,825 5,954 U
Motor bus NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA U
Heavy rail N N N 3,284 3,431 3,401 3,332 3,253 3,280 3,385 3,549 3,646 3,683 3,632 3,684 3,769 U
Light rail N N N 239 282 288 321 361 381 416 463 487 510 507 553 571 U
Trolley bus N N N 69 103 100 69 78 74 75 77 74 73 69 68 67 U
Demand responsive NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA U
Ferryboata NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA U
Commuter rail N N N 1,226 1,244 1,253 1,255 1,270 1,299 1,322 1,370 1,354 1,334 1,383 1,449 1,484 U
Otherb N N N 19 21 26 30 26 39 39 51 49 49 51 72 63 U

SAFETYk

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Fatalities, all modes16 N N N 339 320 274 264 275 286 299 295 267 280 234 248 236 213
Transit highway-rail grade crossing fatalitiesl, 17 N N N N N 17 7 12 26 21 20 13 24 21 29 23 21
Other transit fatalities N N N N N 257 257 263 260 278 275 254 256 213 219 213 192
Injured persons, all modesi, 16 N N N 54,556 58,193 57,196 55,288 56,132 55,990 55,325 56,697 53,945 19,260 18,235 18,982 18,131 18,327
Transit highway-rail grade crossing injuriesl, 17 N N N N N 195 184 126 58 159 123 74 108 117 153 194 172
Other transit injuries N N N N N 57,001 55,104 56,006 55,932 55,166 56574 53871 19152 18118 18,829 17,937 18,155
Incidents, all modes16 N N N 90,163 70,693 62,471 59,392 61,561 60,094 58,703 59,898 58,149 30,331 19,797 20,939 21,016 22,275
Transit highway-rail grade crossing incidentsl, 17 N N N N N 127 134 119 106 140 148 101 398 276 311 504 131
Other transit incidents N N N N N 62,344 59,258 61,442 59,988 58,563 59,750 58,048 29,933 19,521 20,628 20,512 22,144
Major incidentsj N N N N N N N N N N N N 2,282 1,913 2,515 U U

KEY: ~ = included in heavy rail figure; + = included in motor bus figure; kWh = kilowatt hours; N = data do not exist; NA = not applicable; P = preliminary; R = revised; U = data are not available.

a Excludes international, rural, rural interstate, island and urban park ferries.

b Includes cable car, inclined plane, aerial tramway, monorail, vanpool, and automated guideway.

c Beginning in 1992, local operating assistance and other revenue declined by about $500 million due to 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.

d The total figure represents the number of transit agencies. It is not the sum of all modes since many agencies operate more than one mode.

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

f Based on employee equivalents of 2,080 hours equals one employee; beginning in 1993, based on number of actual employees.

g Includes cable car, inclined plane, aerial tramway, monorail, and automated guideway.

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

i 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.

j In 2002, 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, property damage exceeding $25,000 (all property), main-line derailments, evacuations due to life safety, grade crossing collisions with injury or $7,500 damage, or rail transit vehicle collisions resulting in one or more injuries.

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

l 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.

SOURCES

Unless otherwise noted, refer to chapter tables for sources.

1 American Public Transit Association, Public Transportation Fact Book 2007, (Washington, DC: 2007), tables 50, 52, 66 and similar tables in earlier years.

2 Ibid., tables 48, 66 and similar tables in earlier years.

3 Ibid., tables 10, 48, 76 and similar tables in earlier years.

4 Ibid., table 49 and similar tables in earlier years.

5 Ibid., table 2 and similar tables for prior years.

6 Ibid., tables 17, 66 and similar tables in earlier years.

7 Ibid., tables 22, 66 and similar tables in earlier years.

8 Ibid., tables 11, 66 and similar tables in earlier years.

9 Ibid., tables 6, 66 and similar tables in earlier years.

10 Ibid., tables 7, 66 and similar tables in earlier years.

11 Ibid., table 9 and similar tables in earlier years.

12 Ibid., 13 and similar tables in earlier years.

13 Ibid., table 27 and similar tables in earlier years.

14 Ibid., table 28 and similar tables in earlier years.

15 Ibid., table 26 and similar tables in earlier years.

16 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Transit Safety and Security Statistics and Analysis Annual Report (previously Safety Management Information Statistics - SAMIS), Internet site http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/Data/samis/default.asp Sept. 27. 2007.

17 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Office of Program Management, personal communication as of Sept. 5, 2007.
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