US Urban Public Transport:
1990-1995 Ridership
By Metropolitan Area

CONTENTS

Highlights: 1990-1995

Chart: Ridership: Metropolitan Areas Over 1,000,000 (1980-1995)

Chart: Annual Percentage Change: 1980s v. 1990s

Summary Table: Change in Population, Boardings & Boardings per Capita

US Metropolitan Areas of More than 1,000,000 Population

Annual Public Transport Boardings

Annual Boardings per Capita

Metroplitan Areas Ranked by 1995 Boardings

Metropolitan Areas Ranked by Per Capita Boardings

Metropolitan Areas Ranked by Change in Per Capita Boardsings

Metro Area Under 1,000,000 with More than 50 Boardings Per Capita (Honolulu)

Chart: Change in Per Capita Ridership by Quartile

Chart: Geographical Distribution of Ridership by Quartile

Notes

Analysis of St. Louis Trend Factoring Out Light Rail Double Counting

HIGHLIGHTS: 1990-1995

Summary: Public transport ridership and ridership per capita continue to decline in the United States. The decline is widespread, though there are areas in which substantial increases are occurring (Las Vegas, up 288 percent, Orlando up 68 percent and Denver up 23 percent). The largest decreases are occuring in the metropolitan areas with the greatest public transport ridership.

Population: The total population of the 44 US metropolitan areas (hereafter refereed to as "metropolitan") with more than 1,000,000 residents increased by 5.6 percent. The population in other areas increased 5.6 percent, while the national population increase was 5.4 percent (Table #1).

Ridership: Annual public transport boardings dropped by 534 million annually in metropolitan areas --- a decline of 7.3 percent. Boardings rose 105 million in other areas, for an increase of 23.2 percent. Nationally, total boardings dropped 429 million, for a reduction of 5.5 percent (Table #2).

Annual Per Capita Ridership: Annual metropolitan per capita boardings dropped from 53.3 to 46.8, down 12.2 percent. In other areas, per capita boardings rose from 4.0 to 4.7 for an increase of 17.3 percent. Nationally, boardings dropped from 31.0 to 27.8, a drop of 10.3 percent (Table #3).

Ranking of Ridership: The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island metropolitan area continues to use public transport most intensively, with more than 2.5 billion annual boardings per capita --- down 9.7 percent from 1990 (Table #4). New York and six other metropolitan areas (Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston) comprise more than 70 percent of the nation's public transport ridership. Ridership declined at all of these seven systems. The largest system to register an increase was 9th ranked Seattle.

Ranking of Per Capita Ridership: New York has the highest annual boardings per capita, at 127.5 --- down 11.1 percent from 1990 (Table #5). The second highest per capita ridership is achieved by a metropolitan area with less than 1,000,000 people, Honolulu, at 83.2, down 5.4 percent since 1990 (Table #7). Other metropolitan areas with greater than 50 per capita annual boardings are San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (67.5, down 6.9 percent), Washington-Baltimore (66.7, down 8.5 percent), Chicago-Gary-Kenosha (63.6, down 24.5 percent), Boston-Worcester-Lawrence (59.5, down 5.6 percent), New Orleans (57.0, down 10.9 percent) and Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City (56.6, down 10.3 percent). No metropolitan area except for Honolulu with less than 1,000,000 population has per capita annual boardings exceeding 30.

Ranking of Change in Per Capita Ridership: Per capita ridership increased in nine of the 44 metropolitan areas.

  • Las Vegas produced the greatest increase, at 190.4 percent, while Orlando increased 47.6 percent. Denver (9.2 percent), Sacramento (7.8 percent), Miami (5.4 percent) and Portland (5.1 percent) all achieved increases of greater than five percent.

  • The largest declines in annual per capita ridership occurred in Kansas City (-25.8 percent), Cincinnati (-25.9 percent), Detroit (-26.2 percent), Austin (-27.9 percent) and Nashville (-31.0 percent). Among the seven largest systems, Chicago experienced the greatest decline, at 24.5 percent.

Change in Ridership by Quartile: The top quartile of metropolitan areas (11) experienced an 8.6 percent reduction in ridership. The second quartile lost 5.3 percent. The third quartile experienced an increase of 7.0 percent, however the increase in the Las Vegas system alone was greater than the increase for this quartile (which includes Las Vegas). The fourth quartile lost 2.2 percent. Other areas experienced an increase of 23.2 percent in ridership.

Quartile Analysis of Ridership: The 44 metropolitan areas comprise 92 percent of the nation's public transport ridership. The top quartile of metropolitan areas (11) includes 77 percent; the second quartile 10 percent, the third four percent and the fourth 1.6 percent (Chart: Distribution of Ridership).



Summary Table
CHANGE IN POPULATION, BOARDINGS & BOARDINGS PER CAPITA
Area Population Boardings Per Capita Boardings
Atlanta 15.9% -2.1% -15.6%
Austin 18.2% -14.7% -27.9%
Boston-Worcester-Lawrence 1.0% -4.7% -5.6%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls -0.4% -4.3% -3.9%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 10.9% 1.0% -9.0%
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha 4.2% -21.3% -24.5%
Cincinnati-Hamilton 8.5% -19.6% -25.9%
Cleveland-Akron 1.6% -18.7% -20.0%
Columbus 6.9% -4.4% -10.6%
Dallas-Ft. Worth 10.2% 1.9% -7.6%
Denver-Boulder-Greeley 12.8% 23.1% 9.2%
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Fliint 1.8% -24.9% -26.2%
Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point 7.0% 1.2% -5.5%
Hartford -0.8% -2.5% -1.7%
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 11.6% -11.3% -20.5%
Indianapolis 7.0% -12.3% -18.1%
Kansas City 5.1% -22.1% -25.8%
Las Vegas 33.5% 287.8% 190.4%
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange Co 5.7% -4.1% -9.3%
Memphis 6.2% 3.8% -2.2%
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 7.9% 13.7% 5.4%
Milwaukee 2.1% -11.7% -13.5%
Minneapolis-St. Paul 7.3% -12.2% -18.2%
Nashville 11.1% -23.4% -31.0%
New Orleans 2.3% -8.8% -10.9%
New York-NNJ-Long Island 1.6% -9.7% -11.1%
Norfolk-Virginia Bch-Newport News 6.7% 0.9% -5.5%
Oklahoma City 5.8% 4.1% -1.7%
Orlando 13.6% 67.6% 47.6%
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 1.3% -9.2% -10.3%
Phoenix-Mesa 14.6% 13.9% -0.6%
Pittsburgh 0.0% -14.2% -14.2%
Portland-Salem 12.8% 18.5% 5.1%
Providence-Fall River-Warwick -0.6% 0.2% 0.7%
Rochester 2.5% -10.5% -12.7%
Sacramento-Yolo 8.4% 16.8% 7.8%
Salt Lake City-Ogden 11.8% 3.3% -7.6%
San Antonio 10.3% 12.9% 2.3%
San Diego 5.8% 4.4% -1.3%
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 4.6% -2.6% -6.9%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton 9.9% 7.9% -1.9%
St. Louis 2.2% 15.4% 12.8%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 5.4% -7.6% -12.4%
Washington-Baltimore 5.6% -3.3% -8.5%
* St. Louis boardings including significant number of forced transfers to from bus to light rail. As a result, the passenger mile data is considered more reflective of the trend: +3.4 percent in ridership and +1.1 percent in per capita ridership.


Table #1
US METROPOLITAN AREAS OF MORE THAN 1,000,000 POPULATION
(In thousands)
Area 1990 1995 Change
Atlanta 2,960 3,432 15.9%
Austin 846 1,000 18.2%
Boston-Worcester-Lawrence 5,455 5,508 1.0%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls 1,189 1,184 -0.4%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 1,162 1,289 10.9%
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha 8,240 8,590 4.2%
Cincinnati-Hamilton 1,816 1,970 8.5%
Cleveland-Akron 2,859 2,904 1.6%
Columbus 1,345 1,438 6.9%
Dallas-Ft. Worth 4,037 4,450 10.2%
Denver-Boulder-Greeley 1,980 2,233 12.8%
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint 5,187 5,280 1.8%
Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point 1,050 1,124 7.0%
Hartford 1,158 1,149 -0.8%
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 3,731 4,164 11.6%
Indianapolis 1,380 1,477 7.0%
Kansas City 1,583 1,663 5.1%
Las Vegas 853 1,139 33.5%
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange Co 14,532 15,362 5.7%
Memphis 1,007 1,069 6.2%
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 3,193 3,444 7.9%
Milwaukee 1,607 1,641 2.1%
Minneapolis-St. Paul 2,538 2,723 7.3%
Nashville 985 1,094 11.1%
New Orleans 1,285 1,315 2.3%
New York-NNJ-Long Island 19,549 19,858 1.6%
Norfolk-Virginia Bch-Newport News 1,443 1,540 6.7%
Oklahoma City 959 1,015 5.8%
Orlando 1,225 1,391 13.6%
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 5,893 5,967 1.3%
Phoenix-Mesa 2,238 2,564 14.6%
Pittsburgh 2,394 2,395 0.0%
Portland-Salem 1,793 2,022 12.8%
Providence-Fall River-Warwick 1,134 1,128 -0.6%
Rochester 1,062 1,089 2.5%
Sacramento-Yolo 1,481 1,605 8.4%
Salt Lake City-Ogden 1,072 1,199 11.8%
San Antonio 1,324 1,461 10.3%
San Diego 2,498 2,644 5.8%
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 6,253 6,540 4.6%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton 2,970 3,265 9.9%
St. Louis 2,492 2,548 2.2%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 2,068 2,180 5.4%
Washington-Baltimore 6,727 7,107 5.6%
METROPOLITAN AREAS > 1 MILLION 136,553 144,159 5.6%
ALL OTHER AREAS 112,850 118,596 5.1%
UNITED STATES 249,403 262,755 5.4%


Table #2
ANNUAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT BOARDINGS
(In thousands)
Area 1990 1995 Change
Atlanta 149,527 146,366 -2.1%
Austin 32,046 27,324 -14.7%
Boston-Worcester-Lawrence 343,665 327,627 -4.7%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls 30,353 29,034 -4.3%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 11,681 11,798 1.0%
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha 693,554 546,142 -21.3%
Cincinnati-Hamilton 34,590 27,810 -19.6%
Cleveland-Akron 79,190 64,342 -18.7%
Columbus 18,342 17,533 -4.4%
Dallas-Ft. Worth 55,539 56,573 1.9%
Denver-Boulder-Greeley 55,734 68,607 23.1%
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint 99,828 74,962 -24.9%
Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point 4,144 4,194 1.2%
Hartford 19,687 19,200 -2.5%
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 91,070 80,769 -11.3%
Indianapolis 12,284 10,774 -12.3%
Kansas City 18,486 14,406 -22.1%
Las Vegas 7,360 28,538 287.8%
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange Co 521,831 500,552 -4.1%
Memphis 13,859 14,392 3.8%
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 90,746 103,165 13.7%
Milwaukee 67,882 59,963 -11.7%
Minneapolis-St. Paul 69,589 61,110 -12.2%
Nashville 8,621 6,603 -23.4%
New Orleans 82,183 74,954 -8.8%
New York-NNJ-Long Island 2,802,832 2,532,133 -9.7%
Norfolk-Virginia Bch-Newport News 13,536 13,659 0.9%
Oklahoma City 3,530 3,674 4.1%
Orlando 8,027 13,452 67.6%
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 371,848 337,757 -9.2%
Phoenix-Mesa 32,399 36,894 13.9%
Pittsburgh 85,825 73,641 -14.2%
Portland-Salem 60,875 72,138 18.5%
Providence-Fall River-Warwick 16,030 16,057 0.2%
Rochester 15,202 13,608 -10.5%
Sacramento-Yolo 20,315 23,729 16.8%
Salt Lake City-Ogden 23,702 24,492 3.3%
San Antonio 41,909 47,306 12.9%
San Diego 67,143 70,122 4.4%
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 453,198 441,290 -2.6%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton 99,857 107,725 7.9%
St. Louis * 44,350 51,169 15.4%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 19,652 18,151 -7.6%
Washington-Baltimore 490,018 473,865 -3.3%
METROPOLITAN AREAS > 1 MILLION 7,282,039 6,747,602 -7.3%
ALL OTHER AREAS 452,961 558,398 23.2%
UNITED STATES 7,735,000 7,306,000 -5.5%
* St. Louis boardings including significant number of forced transfers to from bus to light rail. As a result, the passenger mile data is considered more reflective of the trend: +3.4 percent in ridership.


Table #3
ANNUAL BOARDINGS PER CAPITA
Area 1990 1995 Change
Atlanta 50.5 42.6 -15.6%
Austin 37.9 27.3 -27.9%
Boston-Worcester-Lawrence 63.0 59.5 -5.6%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls 25.5 24.5 -3.9%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 10.1 9.2 -9.0%
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha 84.2 63.6 -24.5%
Cincinnati-Hamilton 19.0 14.1 -25.9%
Cleveland-Akron 27.7 22.2 -20.0%
Columbus 13.6 12.2 -10.6%
Dallas-Ft. Worth 13.8 12.7 -7.6%
Denver-Boulder-Greeley 28.1 30.7 9.2%
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint 19.2 14.2 -26.2%
Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point 3.9 3.7 -5.5%
Hartford 17.0 16.7 -1.7%
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 24.4 19.4 -20.5%
Indianapolis 8.9 7.3 -18.1%
Kansas City 11.7 8.7 -25.8%
Las Vegas 8.6 25.1 190.4%
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange Co 35.9 32.6 -9.3%
Memphis 13.8 13.5 -2.2%
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 28.4 30.0 5.4%
Milwaukee 42.2 36.5 -13.5%
Minneapolis-St. Paul 27.4 22.4 -18.2%
Nashville 8.8 6.0 -31.0%
New Orleans 64.0 57.0 -10.9%
New York-NNJ-Long Island 143.4 127.5 -11.1%
Norfolk-Virginia Bch-Newport News 9.4 8.9 -5.5%
Oklahoma City 3.7 3.6 -1.7%
Orlando 6.6 9.7 47.6%
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 63.1 56.6 -10.3%
Phoenix-Mesa 14.5 14.4 -0.6%
Pittsburgh 35.9 30.7 -14.2%
Portland-Salem 34.0 35.7 5.1%
Providence-Fall River-Warwick 14.1 14.2 0.7%
Rochester 14.3 12.5 -12.7%
Sacramento-Yolo 13.7 14.8 7.8%
Salt Lake City-Ogden 22.1 20.4 -7.6%
San Antonio 31.7 32.4 2.3%
San Diego 26.9 26.5 -1.3%
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 72.5 67.5 -6.9%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton 33.6 33.0 -1.9%
St. Louis * 17.8 20.1 12.8%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 9.5 8.3 -12.4%
Washington-Baltimore 72.8 66.7 -8.5%
METROPOLITAN AREAS > 1 MILLION 53.3 46.8 -12.2%
ALL OTHER AREAS 4.0 4.7 17.3%
UNITED STATES 31.0 27.8 -10.3%
* St. Louis boardings including significant number of forced transfers to from bus to light rail. As a result, the passenger mile data is considered more reflective of the trend: +1.1 percent in per capita ridership.


Table #4
METROPOLITAN AREAS RANKED BY 1995 BOARDINGS
Ranking Metropolitan Area 1990 1995 Change % of National
1 New York-NNJ-Long Island 2,802,832 2,532,133 -9.7% 34.7%
2 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha 693,554 546,142 -21.3% 7.5%
3 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange Co 521,831 500,552 -4.1% 6.9%
4 Washington-Baltimore 490,018 473,865 -3.3% 6.5%
5 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 453,198 441,290 -2.6% 6.0%
6 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 371,848 337,757 -9.2% 4.6%
7 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence 343,665 327,627 -4.7% 4.5%
8 Atlanta 149,527 146,366 -2.1% 2.0%
9 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton 99,857 107,725 7.9% 1.5%
10 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 90,746 103,165 13.7% 1.4%
11 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 91,070 80,769 -11.3% 1.1%
12 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint 99,828 74,962 -24.9% 1.0%
13 New Orleans 82,183 74,954 -8.8% 1.0%
14 Pittsburgh 85,825 73,641 -14.2% 1.0%
15 Portland-Salem 60,875 72,138 18.5% 1.0%
16 San Diego 67,143 70,122 4.4% 1.0%
17 Denver-Boulder-Greeley 55,734 68,607 23.1% 0.9%
18 Cleveland-Akron 79,190 64,342 -18.7% 0.9%
19 Minneapolis-St. Paul 69,589 61,110 -12.2% 0.8%
20 Milwaukee 67,882 59,963 -11.7% 0.8%
21 Dallas-Ft. Worth 55,539 56,573 1.9% 0.8%
22 St. Louis * 44,350 51,169 15.4% 0.7%
23 San Antonio 41,909 47,306 12.9% 0.6%
24 Phoenix-Mesa 32,399 36,894 13.9% 0.5%
25 Buffalo-Niagara Falls 30,353 29,034 -4.3% 0.4%
26 Las Vegas 7,360 28,538 287.8% 0.4%
27 Cincinnati-Hamilton 34,590 27,810 -19.6% 0.4%
28 Austin 32,046 27,324 -14.7% 0.4%
29 Salt Lake City-Ogden 23,702 24,492 3.3% 0.3%
30 Sacramento-Yolo 20,315 23,729 16.8% 0.3%
31 Hartford 19,687 19,200 -2.5% 0.3%
32 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 19,652 18,151 -7.6% 0.2%
33 Columbus 18,342 17,533 -4.4% 0.2%
34 Providence-Fall River-Warwick 16,030 16,057 0.2% 0.2%
35 Kansas City 18,486 14,406 -22.1% 0.2%
36 Memphis 13,859 14,392 3.8% 0.2%
37 Norfolk-Virginia Bch-Newport News 13,536 13,659 0.9% 0.2%
38 Rochester 15,202 13,608 -10.5% 0.2%
39 Orlando 8,027 13,452 67.6% 0.2%
40 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 11,681 11,798 1.0% 0.2%
41 Indianapolis 12,284 10,774 -12.3% 0.1%
42 Nashville 8,621 6,603 -23.4% 0.1%
43 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point 4,144 4,194 1.2% 0.1%
44 Oklahoma City 3,530 3,674 4.1% 0.1%
* St. Louis boardings including significant number of forced transfers to from bus to light rail. As a result, the passenger mile data is considered more reflective of the trend: +3.4 percent in ridership and +1.1 percent in per capita ridership.


Table #5
METROPOLITAN AREAS RANKED BY PER CAPITA BOARDINGS

Ranking

Metropolitan Area 1995 Change
from 1990
1 New York-NNJ-Long Island 127.5 -11.1%
2 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 67.5 -6.9%
3 Washington-Baltimore 66.7 -8.5%
4 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha 63.6 -24.5%
5 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence 59.5 -5.6%
6 New Orleans 57.0 -10.9%
7 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City 56.6 -10.3%
8 Atlanta 42.6 -15.6%
9 Milwaukee 36.5 -13.5%
10 Portland-Salem 35.7 5.1%
11 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton 33.0 -1.9%
12 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange Co 32.6 -9.3%
13 San Antonio 32.4 2.3%
14 Pittsburgh 30.7 -14.2%
15 Denver-Boulder-Greeley 30.7 9.2%
16 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 30.0 5.4%
17 Austin 27.3 -27.9%
18 San Diego 26.5 -1.3%
19 Las Vegas 25.1 190.4%
20 Buffalo-Niagara Falls 24.5 -3.9%
21 Minneapolis-St. Paul 22.4 -18.2%
22 Cleveland-Akron 22.2 -20.0%
23 Salt Lake City-Ogden 20.4 -7.6%
24 St. Louis * 20.1 12.8%
25 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 19.4 -20.5%
26 Hartford 16.7 -1.7%
27 Sacramento-Yolo 14.8 7.8%
28 Phoenix-Mesa 14.4 -0.6%
29 Providence-Fall River-Warwick 14.2 0.7%
30 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint 14.2 -26.2%
31 Cincinnati-Hamilton 14.1 -25.9%
32 Memphis 13.5 -2.2%
33 Dallas-Ft. Worth 12.7 -7.6%
34 Rochester 12.5 -12.7%
35 Columbus 12.2 -10.6%
36 Orlando 9.7 47.6%
37 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 9.2 -9.0%
38 Norfolk-Virginia Bch-Newport News 8.9 -5.5%
39 Kansas City 8.7 -25.8%
40 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 8.3 -12.4%
41 Indianapolis 7.3 -18.1%
42 Nashville 6.0 -31.0%
43 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point 3.7 -5.5%
44 Oklahoma City 3.6 -1.7%
Honolulu, with a population of 877,000 has the nation's second higher per capita boardings, at 83.2 (down 5.4 percent from 1990).

* St. Louis boardings including significant number of forced transfers to from bus to light rail. As a result, the passenger mile data is considered more reflective of the trend: +3.4 percent in ridership and +1.1 percent in per capita ridership.



Table #6
METROPOLITAN AREAS RANKED BY
CHANGE IN PER CAPITA BOARDINGS

Ranking

Metropolitan Area Change
from 1990
1995
1 Las Vegas 190.4% 25.1
2 Orlando 47.6% 9.7
3 St. Louis 12.8% 20.1
4 Denver-Boulder-Greeley 9.2% 30.7
5 Sacramento-Yolo 7.8% 14.8
6 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 5.4% 30.0
7 Portland-Salem 5.1% 35.7
8 San Antonio 2.3% 32.4
9 Providence-Fall River-Warwick 0.7% 14.2
10 Phoenix-Mesa -0.6% 14.4
11 San Diego -1.3% 26.5
12 Oklahoma City -1.7% 3.6
13 Hartford -1.7% 16.7
14 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton -1.9% 33.0
15 Memphis -2.2% 13.5
16 Buffalo-Niagara Falls -3.9% 24.5
17 Norfolk-Virginia Bch-Newport News -5.5% 8.9
18 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point -5.5% 3.7
19 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence -5.6% 59.5
20 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose -6.9% 67.5
21 Dallas-Ft. Worth -7.6% 12.7
22 Salt Lake City-Ogden -7.6% 20.4
23 Washington-Baltimore -8.5% 66.7
24 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill -9.0% 9.2
25 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange Co -9.3% 32.6
26 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City -10.3% 56.6
27 Columbus -10.6% 12.2
28 New Orleans -10.9% 57.0
29 New York-NNJ-Long Island -11.1% 127.5
30 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater -12.4% 8.3
31 Rochester -12.7% 12.5
32 Milwaukee -13.5% 36.5
33 Pittsburgh -14.2% 30.7
34 Atlanta -15.6% 42.6
35 Indianapolis -18.1% 7.3
36 Minneapolis-St. Paul -18.2% 22.4
37 Cleveland-Akron -20.0% 22.2
38 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria -20.5% 19.4
39 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha -24.5% 63.6
40 Kansas City -25.8% 8.7
41 Cincinnati-Hamilton -25.9% 14.1
42 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint -26.2% 14.2
43 Austin -27.9% 27.3
44 Nashville -31.0% 6.0
St. Louis boardings including significant number of forced transfers to from bus to light rail. As a result, the passenger mile data is considered more reflective of the trend: +3.4 percent in ridership and +1.1 percent in per capita ridership.


Table #7
METROPOLITAN AREA UNDER 1,000,000 POPULATION
WITH MORE THAN 50 BOARDINGS PER CAPITA ANNUALLY:
HONOLULU
(Amounts in thousands)
Factor 1990 1995 Change
Population 836 877 4.9%
Boardings 73,513 72,960 -0.8%
Per Capita 87.9 83.2 -5.4%




NOTES
Source: USDOT FTA National Transit Database
Data Set: Detailed data from 175 public transport systems in the nation's 44 metropolitan areas with more than 1,000,000 population. Data for all other areas summarized. Modes included: motor bus, trolley bus (electric bus), tram (streetcar or light rail), metro (heavy rail, subway, elevated or underground) and commuter rail (regional rail).
"Boardings:" Ridership expressed in annual boardings. A passenger journey often includes more than one boarding (one or more "transfers"). The use of boardings by the National Transit Database makes international comparisons difficult, since most public transport systems count passenger journeys. Nationally, the number of passenger journeys are estimated to be 20 percent below the number of boardings. Individual metropolitan area data is either not available or not readily accessible.
Expanded Rail Service and Artificially Higher Boarding Figures in 1995: Urban rail systems were opened or significantly expanded in Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis and Washington. between 1990 and 1995. Because such systems force many passengers to split their journeys between buses and rail (transfer), the number of boardings for these metropolitan areas in 1995 is artificially inflated. This effect is likely to be most pronounced in St. Louis, where new rail system boardings are one quarter of total public transport ridership.
New Jersey Transit: All of New Jersey Transit's (NJT) ridership has been allocated to New York, which accounts for the majority of NJT ridership. Some NJT ridership occurs in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, but differentiating data is not readily available. The effect is to overstate New York ridership and understate Philadelphia ridership. It is believed that the resulting variances are not significant.
Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point: Because 1990 data is not included for Winston Salem Transit in the National Transit Database, 1991 data was substituted. The effect of this substitution is not considered significant.

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