Nationally, ridership increased by 2.20% compared to the third quarter of 2018, according to the quarterly "Transit Ridership Report" released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This includes a rise of 5.46% for heavy rail, 4.38% for commuter rail systems, and 0.59% for all bus systems.

Riders in the third quarter of 2019 took 2.5 billion trips. This is the second quarter in a row with an increase, and the first consecutive quarters with an increase since the third and fourth quarters of 2014. This added up to 54 million more trips in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the third quarter of 2018.

"Public transportation organizations are consistently improving their services to be more customer focused to meet the needs of today's riders," said APTA President/CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. "The landscape of American transportation is changing; the public transportation industry continues to implement technological innovations and improved access that benefits communities and is a critical part of the transportation network."

Notable increases in ridership include:
Heavy Rail:
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NY) +7.60%
Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (DC) +7.23%

Light Rail:
Charlotte Area Transit (NC) +12.74%
Sacramento Regional Transit District (CA) +6.35%
Minneapolis Metro Transit (MN) +4.03%

Commuter Rail:
Denver Regional Transportation District (CO) +35.11%
Sunrail (FL) +18.26%
New York MTA Long Island Railroad (NY) +12.41%

Bus:
Capital Metro (TX) +7.97%
Utah Transit Authority (UT) +7.17%
Los Angeles County MTA (CA) +4.75%
Alameda-Contra Costa Transportation District (CA) +3.98%