“Riding the Wave: Uplifting Transit Trends and Their Job-Boosting Impact Across the Nation”

WASHINGTON – A recent report from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) concerning transit trends indicates that ridership in the United States is on the rise, with an increase of over 17% nationwide from 2022 to 2023. This growth signifies that more Americans are opting for buses, subways, light rail, and other transit options to commute to work, school, various services, and leisure activities throughout the nation, as transit agencies gained better insights into ridership requirements following alterations in travel patterns during the pandemic.

Transit agencies facilitated 6.9 billion rides, marking a 17.3% surge from 2022. Those same agencies moved patrons over 35 billion miles, reflecting a rise of nearly 17% compared to 2022. This distance is comparable to making the journey to Pluto and back more than four times. With this annual growth, public transportation expanded almost twice as quickly as domestic air travel between 2022 and 2023, the latest year for which national transit reports have been documented.

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates an unprecedented $100 billion to systems of all scales, assisting communities in updating old fleets, enhancing reliability and frequency of routes, and fostering workforce development. This federal funding complements and offers substantial backing for state and community investments as part of locally defined transport projects.

“Our nation’s public transit systems consistently exceed expectations, delivering billions of rides covering billions of miles for millions of individuals throughout our country,” stated FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool. “This report illustrates a positive trend in the utilization of transit, which brings various advantages, including reduced time spent in traffic, decreased carbon emissions, and improved air quality.”

Public transportation also plays a pivotal role in job generation. Over the last year, 10,000 new employees have joined the transit sector, with salaries increasing by more than $1 billion. By the end of 2023, more than 388,000 people were employed in public transportation, occupying roles in operations, maintenance, and administrative functions.

The growth rate for employment in the transit sector surpasses that of other fields. From 2022 to 2023, the number of transit jobs rose by 4%, compared to a 2% increase across all occupations nationwide during the same timeframe.

The 2023 National Transit Summary and Trends report offers an annual overview of public transportation based on information submitted by 3,000 transit agencies to the National Transit Database (NTD). Reporting is sourced from federally supported transit systems, which document metrics routinely throughout the year for the report released each autumn. Congress established the NTD in 1974 to bolster local and state planning initiatives. The transit data provides insights into travel trends, workforce statistics, and the state of transit systems.

The 3,000 transit entities are active nationwide, spanning from major metropolitan areas to smaller urban locations and rural regions. While the majority of transit journeys occur in large urban settings where transit alleviates traffic congestion and promotes walkable communities, nearly one-third of transit trips (28%) happen in smaller urban and rural areas.

High-capacity transit systems such as light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) have experienced considerable growth between 2013 and 2023. Transit rail miles saw a 12% increase, while miles traveled via BRT surged by 44%, representing the highest growth among transit modes. This surge reflects the launch of multiple new BRT systems.

Although transit is already considered an environmentally conscious travel method, numerous transit providers in the country are shifting towards greener propulsion systems, especially for buses. The report, which evaluates trends over the previous decade, found that between 2013 and 2023, the quantity of zero-emission buses increased fourfold.

Furthermore, the report highlights a substantial improvement in accessibility for individuals with disabilities. In 2023, nearly 84% of the nation’s transit stations were deemed fully accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act – features of these stations include modifications like level boarding platforms and ramps – an increase of 4.6% over the past decade.

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