Public transportation ridership in the United States continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. After reaching low levels of 20 percent of pre-pandemic ridership in April 2020, ridership has recovered nationally to 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels as of mid-2023. However, transit ridership recovery levels vary widely, with some systems experiencing higher ridership than before the pandemic, while others are well below the national average.
While some aspects of transit ridership recovery are outside of transit agency control, a number of agencies have found success in driving ridership growth through improving transit service. Changes to service levels at different times of day, improvements to transit service reliability, and focusing on specific populations have supported ridership growth at various transit agencies.
Previous TCRP and APTA projects examined transit ridership and service delivery and can be expanded on to provide the post-pandemic context. TCRP Research Report 209 examines transit ridership trends in the period leading up to the pandemic. TCRP Research Report 231 provides a deep dive into transit ridership declines and solutions. TCRP Research Report 215 addresses improving bus transit reliability. TCRP Research Report 207 examines tactical transit projects. And APTA’s report On the Horizon: Planning for Post-Pandemic Travel examines transit agency responses to the pandemic and their plans for recovery.
The objective of this project is to develop a guide for transit agencies on successful strategies for increasing transit ridership in the post-pandemic era. The study should:
- Identify and examine successful strategies for growing transit ridership post-pandemic.
- Examine the impact of transit service changes at different times of day (e.g., midday service, early morning service, late night service).
- Compare the highest and lowest day of travel each week pre- and post-pandemic regarding total ridership and distribution through the day.
- Examine changes to infrastructure and operations that improve transit reliability.
- Examine transit service changes that target specific populations.
- Examine communities with high transit ridership recovery post-pandemic.
- Provide strategies for a range of transit agency and metropolitan area sizes.
References
https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/research-reports/on-the-horizon-planning-for-post-pandemic-travel/
