Transportation
The Stark (and Hopeful) Facts About Bus Ridership
It’s not a death spiral—at least, not yet. Examples abound of how city leaders can turn the numbers around.
Any frank conversation about building better bus service in American cities must address one fact at the outset: Ridership is in free fall across the country.
Numbers released last month from the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database show a 2.5 percent decline in total transit ridership from 2016 to 2017, with bus ridership leading the way with a 5 percent drop. This nationwide decline in transit ridership has been in progress since 2014, despite growth in U.S. population and employment.