The State of Public Transit 2024 Industry Report

After several difficult years, the future is looking bright for public transit. Ridership is recovering; labor shortages are receding; and federal infrastructure funding is starting to take root.

Below, we analyze five key areas that define the State of Public Transit in 2024. We’ve also included a corresponding Transit Data Scorecard to help you benchmark your agency against these trends. Throughout the report, simply toggle to the right to assess your agency in each area.

Report: Overview

A snapshot of the industry from transit agencies nationwide

Our annual State of Public Transit report captures insights from transit professionals across North America. The report is based on thousands of agency conversations, data from over 300 transit agencies, and a survey of more than 80 transit agency staff from a variety of departments, agency sizes, and service area types.

2024 State of Public Transit Report data visualization of annual survey respondent demographics
"Overview" State of Public Transit Report summary graphic

report overview

Insights in 5 key focus areas

We focused our analysis on five key areas that transit agency staff consistently rank as top agency priorities: the rider experience, service reliability, staff productivity, operational costs, and transit technology.

Throughout the report, toggle over to our Transit Data Scorecard. Use our scorecard to assess your agency's passenger information, service reliability, staff productivity, and more.

About the scorecard

Scorecard: Overview

Evaluating the full spectrum of transit data

Our Transit Data Scorecard is divided into five categories, emphasizing the areas that have the greatest impact on riders and staff. Each category includes criteria for assessing your agency as early, progressing, or advanced.

Keep scrolling to dig into our report's five key areas—and our scorecard's corresponding five categories of assessment.

Continue

  1. 1

    "Rider experience" graphic
    Rider Experience

  2. 2

    "Service reliability" graphic
    Service Reliability

  3. 3

    "Staff productivity" graphic
    Staff Productivity

  4. 4

    "Operational costs" graphic
    Operational Costs

  5. 5

    "Transit technology" graphic
    Transit Technology
"Overview" Transit Data Scorecard summary graphic

scorecard overview

Early

Meets key prerequisites for adopting best practices

Progressing

Follows core best practices but may lack some critical capabilities

Advanced

Leads on the cutting edge of new industry technology and processes

Report: Rider experience

Improved RTPI brings riders back

Ridership trends are solidly on the upswing. APTA shows an 18% increase year-over-year, which has given agencies new impetus to double down on what’s working and reassess what’s not.1

Real-time passenger information (RTPI) is a central part of the story, driven by adoption of the GTFS-realtime standard. But challenges persist during disruptions like detours, trip cancelations, and stop closures. A majority of agencies do not send rider alerts for disruptions, and only one in five provide disruption-aware RTPI. Inaccurate predictions result in ghost buses, hurting the rider experience.

2024 State of Public Transit Report data visualization of "Rider experience" findings, including five industry best practices agencies struggle to meet
"Rider experience" State of Public Transit Report summary graphic

Rider Experience: So what?

Progressing to disruption-aware RTPI

Fortunately there's a new GTFS-rt trip modification standard that's dramatically improving how agencies can communicate with riders during detours, showing riders new detour paths and ETAs that reflect those new paths.

Tap the right arrow, or the below button, to toggle right and assess your agency’s RTPI—and its impact on the rider experience—with our Transit Data Scorecard.

Assess your RTPI

1

Scorecard: Improving the rider experience

Select the relevant checkbox(es) below—and submit to Swiftly at the bottom of the page

Early

"Improving the rider experience" Early graphic

My agency provides riders with consistent information across all channels

  • Mobile app integrations and website data availability
  • Street signage and infotainment integrations

Progressing

"Improving the rider experience" Progressing graphic

My agency builds rider trust with highly accurate, up-to-date real-time information

  • Accurate ETAs from high-fidelity AVL, assignment, and GTFS
  • Customer service agents who can quickly answer common rider calls

Advanced

"Improving the rider experience" Advanced graphic

My agency keeps riders informed when disruptions occur

  • Disruption-aware ETAs that
    factor in detours, cancelations, closed stops—and more
  • Rider alerts that provide high-context disruption information
"Rider experience" Transit Data Scorecard summary graphic

Rider Experience

Better RTPI brings riders back

Arrival predictions are the foundation of RTPI and disruption-aware RTPI is an emerging best practice, spurred by new technology and data standards. We’ve seen accuracy improve by 50% on average when agencies implement Swiftly’s RTPI data engine. Similarly, according to a webinar with Transit, 74% of riders said their confidence increased after their agency started providing detour information. Continue to the next section.

1

Report: Service reliability

Reliability is back on track as staffing shortages improve

Staffing shortages, a severe obstacle to reliability for years, are finally improving. Over three-quarters of agencies report shortages have either reversed course or flattened out.
‍
Improved staffing and efforts to share service changes have helped turn around reliability. Analyzing data from 2022 to 2023, we found missing service (scheduled service that wasn’t served) decreased, while the rate of unexplained missing trips (missing service with no explanation) improved 36%. Agencies are delivering more scheduled service, and they’re keeping riders better informed.

2024 State of Public Transit Report data visualization of "Service reliability" findings, including how staff shortages have changed YoY
"Service reliability" State of Public Transit Report summary graphic

Service reliability: So what?

Focus on what you can control

Agencies report decreasing on-time performance (OTP) as traffic continues to grow. While frustrating, variables like traffic are not within an agency’s control, making it all the more important to focus on factors they can influence.

Tap the right arrow, or the below button, to toggle to our scorecard. There, learn how to take service reliability into your own hands with better tools and data.

Assess your reliability

2

Scorecard: Increasing service reliability

Select the relevant checkbox(es) below—and submit to Swiftly at the bottom of the page

Early

"Increasing service reliability" Early graphic

My agency manages reliability with real-time fleet visibility and accurately measures on-time performance (OTP) and headways

  • Real-time visibility into the fleet with indicators of performance and issues
  • Regular performance management meetings informed by a single source of truth for on-time performance

Progressing

"Increasing service reliability" Progressing graphic

My agency improves OTP by optimizing running times and improving infrastructure

  • Optimized running times based on statistically significant historical datasets
  • Infrastructure planning fueled by big data

Advanced

"Increasing service reliability" Advanced graphic

My agency manages operations proactively to avoid ad hoc operational issues and to maximize service reliability

  • Operator performance monitoring and coaching, including real-time feedback and turn-by-turn directions
  • Disruptions that are managed in real time
"Service reliability" Transit Data Scorecard summary graphic

Service Reliability

Build rider trust with reliable service

Traffic and other factors influence OTP and headway reliability, but there are steps agencies can take to get the best results possible. By analyzing run-times to identify slack in schedules, coaching operators based on performance data, pinpointing infrastructure investments, and providing operators with the best possible onboard technology experience, agencies can improve OTP by up to 40%. Continue to the next section.

2

Report: Staff productivity

Technology is a force multiplier, but late adopters are left behind

Investments in technology continue to pay dividends, allowing agency staff to do more with less, even as staffing challenges fade.

Compared with last year’s respondents, we found a trend towards faster completion of daily tasks, suggesting that many manual, pen-and-paper tasks have gone digital. And yet, there are still many outlier agencies at risk of being left behind, with staff spending hours on manual tasks and searching for elusive data.

2024 State of Public Transit Report data visualization of "Staff productivity" findings, including the average staff time it takes to complete assorted tasks
"Staff productivity" State of Public Transit Report summary graphic

Staff Productivity: So what?

Reduce daily tasks from hours to minutes

Few agencies can perform common daily tasks in under 10 minutes which suggests that while some agencies are shifting to digital processes from pen and paper, there is still substantial room to boost staff productivity with better technology.

Tap the right arrow, or the below button, and evaluate your agency’s productivity using our Transit Data Scorecard.

Assess your productivity

3

Scorecard: Increasing staff productivity

Select the relevant checkbox(es) below—and submit to Swiftly at the bottom of the page

Early

"Increasing staff productivity" Early graphic

My agency empowers customer service to answer rider calls without dependencies on other departments

  • Customer service agents who can quickly answer common rider calls

Progressing

My agency automates complex data calculations to support schedulers, planners, operations, and other heavy data users

  • Optimized running times and infrastructure planning
  • Operator performance monitoring and coaching

Advanced

"Increasing staff productivity" Advanced graphic

My agency streamlines cross-departmental collaboration through a common data language

  • Single source of truth for OTP and headway adherence
  • Onboard devices powered by over-the-air updates and trustworthy data
"Staff productivity" Transit Data Scorecard summary graphic

Staff Productivity

Save time to focus on high-impact work

When transit agency staff work more efficiently, they have more time for creativity, critical analysis, and holistic planning. Agencies achieving advanced productivity have reduced customer service staff call times by up to 70% and can reduce the time required to build a single schedule from a full day’s work to less than an hour. Continue to the next section.

3

Report: Operational costs

Agencies lack tools to make data-informed decisions about costs

Transit technology has come a long way in reducing agencies’ operational costs by automating tasks and by using data to find network optimizations. But many agencies still spend inordinate resources in a quest to identify actionable insights and collaborate across data sources.

Capabilities such as evaluating targeted infrastructure improvements, conducting complex data calculations, and collaborating with a common data language can have the most significant impacts on a transit agency’s bottom line, yet they are also the most common areas where technology falls short.

2024 State of Public Transit Report data visualization of "Operational costs" findings
"Operational costs" State of Public Transit Report summary graphic

operational costs: So what?

Analyzing data yields tangible results

Analytics projects such as optimizing run-times or identifying which intersections and corridors are causing delays have the potential to save revenue service hours, enabling agencies to provide better service with the same resources.

Tap the right arrow, or the below button, to measure your agency's efficiency, and get ideas about how to unlock the full potential of transit data.

Assess your efficiency

4

Scorecard: Accomplishing more with your budget

Select the relevant checkbox(es) below—and submit to Swiftly at the bottom of the page

Early

"Accomplishing more with your budget" Early graphic

My agency reduces operational costs—or increases service without increasing costs—by eliminating slack in the schedule and optimizing routes

  • Optimized running times based on statistically significant historical datasets

Progressing

"Accomplishing more with your budget" Progressing graphic

My agency improves vehicle speeds through targeted infrastructure improvements like transit signal priority projects and bus-only lanes

  • Infrastructure planning fueled by big data

Advanced

"Accomplishing more with your budget" Advanced graphic

My agency redesigns or optimizes our entire network by leveraging big data over anecdotes whenever technologically possible

  • Complete, trustworthy, and
    easy-to-use performance data
  • Seamless data integrations that don’t require large IT investments
"Operational costs" Transit Data Scorecard summary graphic

operational costs

Leverage data to do more with less

Without accurate and accessible data on operational costs, agencies frequently have inefficiencies embedded in their daily operations. Agencies with a Transit Data Platform analyze their data up to 90% faster—and those with sophisticated run-times analysis abilities have identified opportunities to optimize schedules and reduce overall revenue service hours by up to 8% without negatively impacting service. Continue to the next section.

4

Report: Transit technology

Data standards promote innovation

Transit technology has evolved rapidly in the past decade with the introduction of cloud infrastructure, APIs, open data standards, and data analytics tools.

Yet a majority of agencies today face obstacles to easily adopting new technology because of inaccessible data, jeopardizing their ability to provide the best possible tools for riders and staff. Proprietary technology standards and closed data environments are major roadblocks to innovation, preventing agencies from taking advantage of modern transit data software.

2024 State of Public Transit Report data visualization of "Transit technology" findings
"Transit technology" State of Public Transit Report summary graphic

transit technology: So what?

Benefit from investing in data standards

APIs and open data standards can break down silos across different tools and departments, enabling agencies to acquire new tools with confidence and avoid vendor lock-in. In 2023, two new advances in data standards—the Operational Data Standard and GTFS-rt Trip-Modifications—arose to address key use cases for transit data.

Tap the right arrow, or the below button, to evaluate your agency’s transit technology using our scorecard.

Assess your technology

5

Scorecard: Modernizing your tech stack

Select the relevant checkbox(es) below—and submit to Swiftly at the bottom of the page

Early

"Modernizing your tech stack" Early graphic

My agency improves its rider information by leveraging predictive models on top of its existing infrastructure

  • Advanced maturity within
    Improving the rider experience

Progressing

"Modernizing your tech stack" Progressing graphic

My agency improves its operations and historical data analysis through easy-to-use cloud native tools

  • Advanced maturity within
    Increasing service reliability
  • Advanced maturity within
    Increasing staff productivity
  • Advanced maturity within
    Accomplishing more with your budget

Advanced

"Modernizing your tech stack" Advanced graphic

My agency eliminates vendor lock-in and future-proofs its technology systems with modular, best-in-breed solutions

  • Real-time feedback and turn-by-turn directions for operators
  • Onboard devices powered by over-the-air updates and trustworthy data
"Transit technology" Transit Data Scorecard summary graphic

transit technology

Future-proof your transit technology

As we’ve seen across the report, complex data analysis can benefit every transit agency department. But many agencies struggle to find actionable insights from their own data. Agencies with a dedicated Transit Data Platform, bolstered by APIs and open data standards, have liberated, easy-to-access data that leads to maximum internal collaboration and a top-tier passenger experience. Submit your Transit Data Scorecard below.

5

Now is the time to build on a year of progress

Transit agencies have responded to immense pressures with grit and innovation over the last year, and the data shows it.

Your Transit Data Scorecard holds many of the answers about where to focus your efforts. Submit your scorecard to dive into your answers with a Swiftly expert. You’ll get a detailed breakdown of your agency’s data health at no cost—a valuable asset as you plan your year, build your budgets, and align on agency priorities.

Request a demo
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Products
Solutions
Company
Resources
©2025 Swiftly, Inc. All rights reserved.‍
Privacy Policy
|
Terms of Use
|
Security and Trust
|
Do Not Sell My Data
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.