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BTS Home > Publications > National Transportation Statistics > 2005
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Transit Profile

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FINANCIAL

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 (P) 2003
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 28,086
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 14,236
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 9,153
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
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
Light rail N N N 83 135 127 144 139 150 164 181 204 226 229
Trolley bus N N N 46 55 54 55 57 55 60 60 60 59 54
Demand responsive N N N 41 171 146 157 170 142 159 172 182 194 244
Ferryboata N N N 56 41 60 54 51 41 48 60 71 78 99
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
Otherb N N N 6 46 31 24 43 38 46 41 47 46 51
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 5,083
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 13,850
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 12,233
Federal N N 1,093 970 916 817 596 647 751 872 994 1,130 1,319 1,617
Operating expenses2, total ($ millions) 1,377 1,996 6,711 17,979 21,653 21,540 22,260 23,159 24,318 25,538 28,194 29,279 30,918 U
Operating expenses, total N N 6,247 15,742 17,920 17,849 18,341 18,936 19,739 20,512 22,646 23,517 24,834 26,859
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
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
Light rail N N N 237 413 376 442 473 500 546 606 682 778 815
Trolley bus N N N 109 133 139 135 140 147 167 178 172 187 183
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
Ferryboata N N N 171 200 210 183 221 214 238 268 324 354 355
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
Otherb N N N 41 73 69 124 122 153 160 206 208 229 278
Depreciation and amortization N N 278 1,593 2,769 2,601 2,885 3,106 3,435 3,692 4,076 4,233 4,470 4,500
Other reconciling items N N 186 644 964 1,091 1,034 1,117 1,145 1,333 1,472 1,529 1,614 U
Average passenger revenue per passenger-mile3, all modes ($) N N N 0.14 0.17 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.19
Motor bus N N N 0.14 0.17 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.20 0.20 0.21 0.20 0.19 0.20
Heavy rail N N N 0.15 0.19 0.19 0.20 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.20
Light rail N N N 0.14 0.16 0.15 0.15 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.14 0.16 0.16
Trolley bus N N N 0.24 0.29 0.29 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.32 0.31 0.32 0.32 0.30
Demand responsive N N N 0.09 0.30 0.24 0.24 0.23 0.19 0.20 0.20 0.21 0.23 0.26
Ferryboata N N N 0.20 0.16 0.23 0.21 0.17 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.22 0.23 0.25
Commuter rail N N N 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.14 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.16
Otherb N N N 0.05 0.20 0.11 0.07 0.12 0.09 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09
Average passenger fare, per unlinked trip4, all modes ($) 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

INVENTORY

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 (P) 2003
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
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
Heavy rail 31 15 11 12 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
Light rail ~ ~ 9 17 22 22 22 22 23 24 25 26 27 27
Trolley bus 19 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4
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
Ferryboata N N 16 27 25 25 25 25 28 30 33 42 42 46
Commuter rail N N 18 14 16 16 16 18 18 20 19 21 20 21
Otherb N N 5 35 69 69 69 70 72 81 81 82 82 86
Number of vehicles 6, total 65,292 61,298 75,388 93,553 116,552 116,473 122,937 126,843 124,428 129,183 131,918 134,271 135,282 139,139
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
Heavy rail 9,010 9,286 9,641 10,419 10,138 10,157 10,201 10,242 10,301 10,306 10,591 10,718 10,718 10,754
Light rail 2,856 1,262 1,013 913 1,054 999 1,140 1,229 1,220 1,297 1,577 1,366 1,445 1,482
Trolley bus 3,826 1,050 823 832 877 885 871 859 880 859 951 600 600 672
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
Ferryboata N N N 108 110 110 109 134 113 112 119 125 125 131
Commuter raile N N 4,500 (R) 5,007 (R) 5,126 (R) 5,164 (R) 5,240 (R) 5,426 (R) 5,536 (R) 5,550 (R) 5,498 (R) 5,572 (R) 5,724 5,959
Otherb N N N 1,089 2,395 2,699 2,894 3,674 4,590 4,947 5,089 5,602 6,205 6,859
Number of employeesf, 7, total 156,400 138,040 189,300 262,176 294,087 300,491 314,944 320,759 327,752 337,885 347,841 357,266 360,722 338,022
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Otherb N N N 898 854 1,169 1,086 1,140 1,080 1,091 2,643 1,270 1,335 1,453

PERFORMANCE

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 (P) 2003
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 4,375
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
Heavy rail 391 407 385 537 532 537 543 558 566 578 595 608 621 630
Light rail 75 34 18 24 34 35 38 41 44 49 53 54 61 64
Trolley bus 101 33 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 13 14 14
Demand responsive N N N 306 464 507 548 585 671 718 759 789 803 864
Ferryboata N N 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4
Commuter rail N N 179 213 231 238 242 251 260 266 271 277 284 286
Otherb N N 13 16 30 34 42 49 63 69 71 75 80 96
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 9,436
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
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
Light rail N 124 133 175 284 251 261 262 276 292 320 336 337 338
Trolley bus N 182 142 126 118 119 117 121 117 120 122 119 116 109
Demand responsive N N N 68 88 88 93 99 95 100 105 105 103 111
Ferryboata N N 63 50 47 47 48 51 52 53 53 54 57 66
Commuter rail N N 280 328 339 344 352 357 381 396 413 419 414 410
Otherb N N 4 29 33 33 33 41 37 38 40 43 40 45
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 47,972
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
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
Light rail N N 381 571 833 860 957 1,035 1,128 1,206 1,356 1,437 1,432 1,476
Trolley bus N N 219 193 187 187 184 189 182 186 192 187 188 176
Demand responsive N N N 431 577 607 656 754 735 813 839 855 853 930
Ferryboata N N N 286 260 260 256 294 294 310 330 325 333 394
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
Otherb N N 390 124 232 273 348 369 441 469 462 518 510 568
Average trip length11, all modes (miles) N N N N 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Motor bus N N N N 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Heavy rail N N N N 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Light rail N N N N 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Trolley bus N N N N 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Demand responsive N N N N 7 8 9 10 8 8 8 8 8 8
Ferryboata N N N N 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Commuter rail N N N N 24 24 24 23 23 22 23 23 23 23
Vanpool N N N N 32 35 34 33 36 34 35 33 37 33
Otherg N N N N 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Average vehicle speed12, all modes (miles per hour) N N N N 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
Motor bus N N N N 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13
Heavy rail N N N N 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 21
Light rail N N N N 14 14 14 16 16 15 15 15 15 16
Trolley bus N N N N 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7
Demand responsive N N N N 14 15 15 15 17 15 15 15 15 15
Ferryboata N N N N 8 6 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 9
Commuter rail N N N N 34 34 33 34 32 33 29 32 32 32
Vanpool N N N N 33 35 37 36 37 38 31 39 38 33
Otherg N N N N 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 7
Energy consumption, diesel13, total (million gallons) 208 271 431 651 678 678 693 717 740 763 786 745 725 749
Motor bus N N N 563 565 564 578 598 607 618 635 587 559 536
Heavy rail NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Light rail NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Trolley bus NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Demand responsive N N N 15 30 29 31 32 38 43 48 55 62 109
Ferryboata N N N 20 21 22 22 24 25 29 32 30 31 32
Commuter rail N N N 53 62 63 62 63 69 73 71 72 73 72
Otherb N N N < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1
Energy consumption, other14, total (million gallons) 192 69 11 34 65 71 76 83 90 93 103 112 132 147
Gasoline and other nondiesel fuelsh 192 68 11 33 60 61 61 59 53 49 48 46 51 47
Compressed natural gas U U U U 5 11 15 24 37 44 55 66 81 100
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
Motor bus NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
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
Light rail N N N 239 282 288 321 361 381 416 463 487 510 507
Trolley bus N N N 69 103 100 69 78 74 75 77 74 73 69
Demand responsive NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Ferryboata NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
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
Otherb N N N 19 21 26 30 26 39 39 51 49 49 51

SAFETY

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 (P) 2003
Fatalities, all modes16 N N N 339 320 274 264 275 286 299 295 267 (R) 280 234
Transit highway-rail grade crossing fatalitiesk, 17 N N N               12 1 1 4
Other transit fatalities N N N               283 266 279 230
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 (R) 19,260 18,235
Transit highway-rail grade crossing injuriesk, 17 N N N               111 54 76 68
Other transit injuries N N N               56,586 53,891 19,184 18,167
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
Transit highway-rail grade crossing incidentsk, 17 N N N               106 54 112 66
Other transit incidents N N N               59,792 58,095 30,219 19,731
Major incidentsj N N N N N N N N N N N N (R) 2,282 1,913

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

k 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 2005, (Washington, DC: 2005), tables 66, 67, 110, and similar tables in earlier years.

2 Ibid., tables 63, 64, 110 and similar tables in earlier years. 2003: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, 2003 National Transit Database, Internet site www.ntdprogram.com.

3 Ibid., tables 11, 66, 67, 110, and similar tables in earlier years.

4 Ibid., table 65 and similar tables in earlier years.

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

6 Ibid., tables 25, 110, and similar tables in earlier years.

7 Ibid., tables 31, 110, and similar tables in earlier years.

8 Ibid., tables 19, 110, and similar tables in earlier years.

9 Ibid., tables 8, 110, and similar tables in earlier years.

10 Ibid., tables 11, 110, and similar tables in earlier years.

11 Ibid., table 10 and similar tables in earlier years.

12 Ibid., 21 and similar tables in earlier years.

13 Ibid., table 35 and similar tables in earlier years.

14 Ibid., table 36 and similar tables in earlier years.

15 Ibid., table 34 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 April 22, 2005.

17 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Office of Program Management, personal communication as of May 24, 2005.
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