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APTA's 'Transit Wrapped' Names Agencies with Top Ridership Gains

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Seattle’s King County Metro, and San Franciso Muni were the top three agencies in terms of ridership growth for agencies with 50 million or more annual trips, while GO Transit topped the list for Canadian agencies.

December 9, 2024
APTA's 'Transit Wrapped' Names Agencies with Top Ridership Gains

DC's WMATA showed a ridership growth of 20%, according to APTA's year-end report.

Photo: New Flyer

2 min to read


The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released its “Transit Wrapped 2024” report, detailing the transit agencies with the largest ridership increases this year. 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Seattle’s King County Metro, and San Franciso Muni were the top three agencies in terms of ridership growth for agencies with 50 million or more annual trips, while Milwaukee’s MCTS (15 to 50 million annual trips); Jamaica, N.Y.’s AirTran JFK (three to 15 million annual trips); and Detroit People Mover (Under three million annual trips) topped the list in their respective categories. 

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Meanwhile in Canada, Toronto’s GO Transit topped the list. 

Millions more people across America are riding public transportation in 2024! Check out the #transit systems with the largest ridership increases this year.#TransitWrapped2024pic.twitter.com/hpu0lbk6rl

— APTA (@APTA_info) December 4, 2024

APTA’s Transit Wrapped 2024 Lists

The complete top five lists as shared by APTA via X (formerly Twitter), include:

Systems with 50+ million annual riders

  • WMATA (Washington, DC) – 20%

  • King County Metro (King County, Washington) – 14%

  • San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (San Francisco) – 14%

  • Metropolitan Transit System (San Diego) – 13%

  • Chicago Transit Authority (Chicago) – 13%

Systems with between 15 and 50 million annual riders

  • Milwaukee County Transit System(Milwaukee, Wis.) – 28%

  • Montgomery County Transit (Montgomery County, Md.) – 20%

  • Capital District Transportation Authority (Albany, N.Y.) – 19%

  • Utah Transit Authority (Salt Lake City) – 17%

  • Pace Suburban Bus (South Holland, Ill.) – 15%

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Systems with between three and 15 million annual riders

  • AirTran JFK (New Jersey and New York) – 31%

  • Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority (Modesto, Calif.) – 28%

  • Hampton Roads Transit (Hampton Roads, Va) – 26%

  • METRO Regional Transit Authority (Akron, Ohio) – 23%

  • Kitsap Transit (Kitsap County, Wash.) – 20%

Systems with fewer than three million annual riders

  • Detroit People Mover (Detroit) – 80%

  • Portage Area Regional Transit Authority (Portage County, Ohio) – 52%

  • Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (Marin and Sonoma counties, Calif.) – 32%

  • City of Las Cruces (Cruces, N.M.) – 31%

  • Transfort (Fort Collins, Colo.) – 29%

    APTA members in Canada saw more passengers getting on-board #transit in 2024! Check out the top five systems with the biggest jumps in ridership:
    1. @GOtransit ↗️32%
    2. @calgarytransit ↗️20%
    3. @CityofEdmonton ↗️16%
    4. @YRTViva ↗️16%
    5. @winnipegtransit ↗️12%#TransitWrapped2024pic.twitter.com/Y5xKIIKCXL

    — APTA (@APTA_info) December 6, 2024

    Top Canadian Agencies

    • GO Transit (Toronto) - 32%

    • Calgary Transit (Calgary) – 20%

    • Edmonton Transit Service (Edmonton) – 16%

    • York Region Transit (Richmond Hill, Ontario) – 16%

    • Winnipeg Transit (Winnipeg) – 12%

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