U.S. transit agencies - 10 largest based on unlinked passenger trips 2021

In 2021, the public transport authority with the highest ridership in the United States was by far the MTA New York City Transit with more than 1.7 billion passenger trips. The Chicago Transit Authority had the second highest ridership at 196 million unlinked trips.

A Slow Year For Transit

The numbers for unlinked passenger trips reported for 2021 for the largest U.S. transit authorities may seem large, but the total number of unlinked passenger trips declined significantly from 2019, due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. From 9.92 billion total unlinked passenger trips in 2019, this number fell to 4.71 billion in 2020, a near 50 percent decrease. After 2020, the numbers of unlinked passenger trips look to be on the rise, reaching about 7.11 billion in 2023. 

Buses Win the Race

Of the 7.11 billion unlinked passenger trips on public transport in 2023, nearly half were by bus. A further 37 percent were by heavy rail. The remaining 14 percent of public transport trips were largely made up of trips by light rail and commuter rail.