Transit
Facts
More than three hundred U.S. urban areas have transit service. But two out of
three transit rides are taken in just seven regions: New York, Chicago, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia, and Boston. Few Los Angeleans
use transit, but Los Angeles makes it on the list simply because it has so many
people. The other six join Honolulu and a few college towns as the only urban
areas where transit has more than a 3 percent share of motorized transport. In
only two other major urban areas--Seattle and New Orleans--does transit have
more than a 2 percent share, and both are less than 2.5 percent.
Number of metropolitan areas tracked by the Census Bureau in 1998: 398
- Number with transit systems: 314
- Portion of all U.S. transit trips carried in the top seven transit markets:
66.5%
- Portion of transit passenger miles carried in the top seven transit
markets: 69.6%
Share of urban area motorized passenger miles carried by
transit in 1998:
- All U.S. urban areas: 1.8%
- New York: 9.6%
- Boston: 4.1%
- San Francisco: 4.0%
- Chicago: 3.6%
- Washington: 3.6%
- Philadelphia: 3.4%
- Los Angeles: 1.5%
- All other urban areas over 1 million people: 1.0%
- Urban areas of 200,000 to 1 million people: 0.6%
- Urban areas of 50,000 to 200,000 people: 0.4%
Per capita miles of
transit use by urban area in 1998:
- All U.S. urban areas: 239
- New York: 978
- Washington: 521
- San Francisco: 513
- Boston: 511
- Chicago: 435
- Philadelphia: 345
- Los Angeles: 190
- All other urban areas over 1 million people: 145
- Urban areas of 200,000 to 1 million people: 78
- Urban areas of 50,000 to 200,000 people: 57
Source: National Transit
Database, table 27, for 1998 transit passenger miles; Highway Statistics 1998,
table HM-72, for urban area vehicle miles (multiplied by 1.6 to get passenger
miles).
Share of commuter trips carried by transit in 1990:
- All U.S. urban areas: 6.8%
- New York: 26.5%
- Washington: 13.7%
- Chicago: 13.7%
- Boston: 10.7%
- Philadelphia: 10.3%
- San Francisco: 9.5%
- Los Angeles: 4.7%
- Honolulu: 9.4%
- Pittsburgh: 8.0%
- Iowa City: 7.9%
- Baltimore: 7.6%
- New Orleans: 7.1%
- Seattle: 6.5%
- Atlantic City: 5.6%
- Portland: 5.6%
- The Twin Cities: 5.4%
- All other major U.S. metropolitan areas: Under 5%
- All other urban areas over 1 million people: 4.2%
Source: 1990 Census
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