The State of Public Transit 2025 Industry Report
Public transit is at a pivotal moment. After weathering a global pandemic that reshaped travel patterns, agencies are now navigating a complex mix of recovery and reinvention. The good news? Ridership is back—exceeding pre-pandemic levels in many cities across the country. The challenge? Funding stability remains uncertain, and agencies are under pressure to do more with less.
This year's State of Public Transit Report—our sixth annual edition—dives deep into the hard numbers behind these trends. We explore the real implications of recent funding wins, the evolving role of technology in operations, and the strategies agencies are using to adapt to changing rider expectations. Our goal is simple: to provide transit professionals with actionable insights that help them tackle their most pressing challenges head-on.
The State of Public Transit 2025 Industry Report
The State of Public Transit 2025 Industry Report
Public transit is at a pivotal moment. After weathering a global pandemic that reshaped travel patterns, agencies are now navigating a complex mix of recovery and reinvention. The good news? Ridership is back—exceeding pre-pandemic levels in many cities across the country. The challenge? Funding stability remains uncertain, and agencies are under pressure to do more with less.
This year's State of Public Transit Report—our sixth annual edition—dives deep into the hard numbers behind these trends. We explore the real implications of recent funding wins, the evolving role of technology in operations, and the strategies agencies are using to adapt to changing rider expectations. Our goal is simple: to provide transit professionals with actionable insights that help them tackle their most pressing challenges head-on.
Public transit is at a pivotal moment. After weathering a global pandemic that reshaped travel patterns, agencies are now navigating a complex mix of recovery and reinvention. The good news? Ridership is back—exceeding pre-pandemic levels in many cities across the US. The challenge? Funding stability remains uncertain, and agencies are under pressure to do more with less.
This year's State of Public Transit—our sixth annual edition—dives deep into the hard numbers behind these trends. We explore the real implications of recent funding wins, the evolving role of technology in operations, and the strategies agencies are using to adapt to changing rider expectations. Our goal is simple: to provide transit professionals with actionable insights that help them tackle their most pressing challenges head-on.
Report overview
An industry snapshot of North American agencies
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, service area types, agencies using Swiftly, and those not using Swiftly.
What functional area do you work in?
How many vehicles are in your agency's fleet?
1:
Funding and ridership
Chapter 1: Funding and ridership
Transit is gaining momentum, but uncertainty remains
2024 was a big year for transit funding and ridership. A record-breaking 87% success rate for transit-related ballot measures resulted in over $25 billion in new funding, reflecting growing public support for transit investment at the state and local level. Ridership trends, too, are encouraging—some cities are reporting demand levels surpassing pre-pandemic figures, while others are nearing full recovery.
2024 was a marquee year for state and local transit ballot initiatives.1
46
Transit measures passed
87%
Transit funding win rate
$25B+
Transit funding passed
Another massive win: Ridership is trending toward pre-pandemic levels.2
Many agencies have returned to or even surpassed pre-pandemic ridership levels.2
Data pulled from APTA + Transit's Ridership Trends in February 2025
But pandemic-era infrastructure spending has come to an end as well. It was likely a one-time federal injection.3
Together, these developments are causing a mix of excitement and anxiety.
“
Things have improved a lot in the last few years, but many are dependent on off-setting the costs of the improvements. This means we often have to do without things that would greatly enhance our operations and customer service. Funding insecurity is a big part of it.”
“
Transit continues to fall behind rail and highway transportation due to inferior federal funding. We are all keeping a watchful eye on the feds with the changing administration.”
An area of opportunity shines through: Rising ridership often leads to increased funding—
—and nearly all agencies (87%) are confident in their ridership metrics at the system-level.
However, ridership visibility significantly drops off at more granular levels.
This presents an opportunity.
High-resolution ridership data can help secure additional funding, aid with resource allocation, and highlight opportunities to further increase ridership.
Agency spotlight: NCTD increases ridership counts by 7% overnight
North County Transit Department (NCTD) in San Diego County, CA, got a major boost in rider counts simply by improving their data collection. Previously, NCTD’s fare-based methods significantly under-reported ridership. Moving to APC-based data, NCTD reported 7% more ridership system-wide, opening the door to capture the full value of government funding.
Momentum depends on understanding ridership
While state and local funding successes are cause for optimism, agencies know that short-term wins don’t guarantee long-term stability, especially with uncertainty at the federal level. Precise ridership tracking and data transparency will be critical to maintaining funding momentum and advocating for future investment.
2:
Real-time passenger information
Chapter 2: Real-time passenger information
RTPI is improving, but there's still room for growth
Real-time passenger information (RTPI) has come a long way in recent years, with GTFS-rt adoption driving several key improvements. Notably, two-thirds of agencies now use GTFS-rt to power their real-time information; and 30% of agencies accurately communicate disruption information, including during detours and service cancellations, over 95% of the time—which is considered best-in-class.
Despite these gains, service disruptions remain a pain point for the vast majority of agencies. The numbers reflect this: 70% regularly leave riders misinformed during service disruptions. Challenges stem from a persistent mix of issues with transit data, including incomplete datasets, unassigned vehicles, and other data anomalies that impact the rider experience.
Agencies have made major strides in improving real-time passenger information over the last year.
+55%
Agencies with disruption-aware real-time information
31% (2025)
20% (2024)
+20%
Agencies using GTFS-rt to power real-time information
67% (2025)
56% (2024)
+8%
Agencies with rider alerts accessible across channels
41% (2025)
38% (2024)
More agencies are making sure riders stay informed, both when service runs smoothly and when it's disrupted or canceled.
30% of agencies provide "best-in-class" explained service to their riders.4
What is "explained service"?
“Explained service” is a metric that complements and expands on OTP by capturing critical aspects of reliability that OTP misses, including ghost buses and uncommunicated service adjustments. Explained service is defined as the percentage of all scheduled service, delivered or undelivered, that was successfully communicated to riders.
But there's still room for improvement.
70% of agencies still face communication challenges. Anything less than "best-in-class" regularly leaves riders misinformed.4
What does "unexplained service" mean for passengers?
When an agency has 10% "unexplained service," a daily rider will experience at least one major inaccuracy a week—like an uncommunicated detour, ghost bus, or vehicle with no real-time information. Even a single occurrence can permanently damage rider perceptions of reliability, highlighting the importance of getting it right.
Only 31% of agencies say their real-time predictions reflect detours or other service disruptions.
29% of agencies say their real-time information lags behind what riders expect in other day-to-day contexts.
Agencies are narrowing the gap using the latest advancements in real-time data.
Agency spotlight: MDOT MTA embraces new RTPI gold standard
Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) in Baltimore, MD, keeps riders informed during detours with real-time, map-based updates directly in Transit. By leveraging GTFS-rt Trip-Modifications, staff can enact detours in their dispatch tools and automatically send disruption information to Transit, which then instantly shows riders detour shapes and temporary stops on an intuitive map.
Disruption-aware RTPI: Fewer surprises for riders
People expect accurate, up-to-date information in every aspect of their lives, and transit is no exception. Just like other areas of their lives, riders count on real-time updates to stay informed and in control. Disruption-aware information is now table stakes for third-party rider apps. Agencies that prioritize seamless disruption management and clear communication can further integrate transit into people’s daily routines as a trusted and essential service. When agencies get it right, riders notice.
4 Historical agency delivery data, Swiftly Dashboard, 2024
3:
Service reliability
Chapter 3: Service reliability
Multi-pronged strategies are improving reliability
Transit agencies are embracing new strategies to improve reliability, and it seems to be working. Tactics like real-time on-time performance (OTP) management, especially during service disruptions, are having a big impact on the rider experience.
The shift is striking. Over the past year, the share of agencies reporting OTP improvements grew by 61%, which points to a growing alignment between goals and outcomes. A key driver? Agencies seeing gains are adopting a multi-pronged approach, applying a full-court press on reliability.
The last year saw major shifts in OTP.
For the first time in recent years, agencies with OTP gains (29%) were roughly on par with those seeing declines (36%).
36%
Agencies reporting
declining OTP
29% (2024)
+24% YoY
34%
Agencies reporting
no change to OTP
48% (2024)
-29% YoY
29%
Agencies reporting
improved OTP
18% (2024)
+61% YoY
The number of agencies with OTP improvements jumped 61% since last year, signaling real momentum.
What’s behind these gains? Tackling reliability on multiple fronts.
70%
Adjust schedules
to optimize OTP
61%
Proactively monitor schedule and headway adherence
46%
Improve customer feedback loops to flag reliability issues
28%
Implement priority measures like TSP and BRT
When all these strategies come together, reliability can reach new levels.
Agency spotlight: Miami-Dade improves OTP by up to 10%
Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) recently used a multi-faceted approach to significantly improve reliability. The top tools in their tool chest? Robust historical datasets to rebuild schedules, real-time performance tools for both dispatchers and operators, and turning attention to unassigned vehicles for better visibility and improved RTPI. Early results are promising: OTP has improved by 3.5% system-wide and by up to 10% on high-priority routes.
Reliability is like a puzzle—every piece counts
There’s no silver bullet to reliability, but agencies that focus on low-hanging fruit—like ensuring scheduled run-times reflect actual road conditions—can have an outsize impact on service performance. Small changes add up.
Reliability in 2025 also goes beyond just schedule adherence. It encompasses the entire transit experience, from reducing bus bunching to smooth service recovery when disruptions happen. This means equipping staff with the tools and insights to manage operations proactively, addressing issues before they affect riders.
4:
Proactive operations
Chapter 4: Proactive operations and staff productivity
Disruptions are inevitable but reactive mode shouldn't be
Operations teams today, by and large, find themselves in reactive mode. 60% describe their operations as reactive or passive, and dispatchers are particularly stretched thin. A major barrier to proactive operations? The difficulty dispatchers face when communicating with operators, especially when operating unexpected detours or unfamiliar routes.
The impact extends beyond operational efficiency. It also causes a ripple effect that impacts staff morale, hiring, and retention. While these challenges are significant, they also open the door for meaningful improvements. By enhancing communication strategies and refining processes, agencies can create an environment where staff feel more supported and prepared to handle daily demands.
Almost two-thirds of respondents call their operations reactive or passive.
60%
Address issues reactively or passively—after they have already occurred
6%
Use data and trends predictively—to anticipate future issues
34%
Implement measures proactively—to avoid issues before they arise
“
We are consistently overextended and short-staffed, typical of a small agency like ours. Dispatchers handle multiple tasks at once, which means we can barely monitor service, let alone get ahead of problems.”
A key barrier to proactive operations: Dispatchers report struggling to effectively communicate with operators, especially when navigating unfamiliar routes.
What challenges do your operators face while navigating their routes?
57%
Stress while driving unfamiliar or new routes
55%
Confusion around detours and other changes to service
30%
Limited information
about road closures
25%
Difficulty following 'paper paddles' and 'lefts and rights'
These challenges don’t just affect service—they also make it harder to hire (57%), onboard (22%), and retain (44%) staff, particularly operators.
Agencies also cite a growing generation gap between newer and seasoned staff.
About half of agencies (51%) say newer staff have higher expectations around transit technology compared to veterans.
Consumer apps are setting new usability standards, making operational tools feel less intuitive for newer staff.
“
The digital literacy gap seems to be accelerating the decline of reliable operations... especially as newer people expect the advanced state of private sector transport technologies.”
Team efficiency may be taking a hit. Some common tasks that previously took 10–60 minutes are now taking over an hour. Among these: Investigating reliability and creating detours.
Meanwhile, the share of agencies that complete these tasks in under 10 minutes—a reflection of system usability—changed little since last year.
The generation gap is likely to grow in coming years. 40% of agencies find it difficult to transfer institutional knowledge when experienced staff retire.
Intuitive tools can shift the tide. They ease communication gaps, simplify workflows, and help teams stay ahead of issues.
Agency spotlight: CapMetro responds fast when disruptions hit
CapMetro in Austin, TX, plans for the unexpected by equipping staff with tools for quick ad hoc service adjustments; and as soon as changes go into effect, real-time disruption information automatically flows to rider channels. The result? When an ice storm shut down the city, they adapted fast, kept riders informed, and gave teams the data they needed to respond effectively.
Proactive operations start with the staff experience
With the rider experience always front and center, it can be easy to sometimes overlook the importance of the staff experience in keeping transit moving smoothly. But the staff experience is exactly how agencies can shift operations from reactive to proactive. Teams can only catch minor disruptions before they escalate when they have simple, reliable tools at their disposal—tools that quickly surface the most pressing issues and help effectively coordinate fixes with others who need to know.
This is especially true as the generation gap continues to grow. For new hires, staff-friendly tools facilitate getting up to speed without overwhelming complexity. And for experienced staff, intuitive tools prevent spending precious bandwidth on unnecessarily manual workflows.
5:
Transit tech and data
Chapter 5: Transit technology and data
Interoperable systems power data-driven transit decisions
Agencies are increasingly shifting to modular, interoperable systems that enable flexibility and scalability. This has allowed them to adapt to changing demands and better serve their communities. However, many agencies continue to face challenges with data fragmentation, cross-system integrations, and the difficulty of making real-time, data-driven decisions.
Solving these challenges requires a strategic approach—leveraging data in meaningful ways, deploying best-of-breed technology to solve acute problems, and ensuring that technology serves both staff and riders without adding unnecessary complexity. Agencies that succeed in these areas will be better positioned to enhance service reliability, streamline operations, and deliver a more responsive transit experience.
Two-thirds of agencies say that interoperability, modularity, and data standards are "very important" when adopting new technologies.5
32%
Somewhat important
2%
Not important
66%
Very important
But agencies report mixed success with tech meeting their daily needs. The top three areas where tech excels are the same areas where others find it lacking.
39%
Enabling customer service to respond to more rider calls, and faster
30%
30%
Automating complicated data calculations to support various departments
40%
24%
Streamlining collaboration through a common data language
43%
For many agencies, disjointed data is the barrier holding their technology back.
“
Disjointed data causes hardware issues and regular CAD/AVL failures. Our broken processes often mean we don't notify our customers about disruptions and cancellations when we should. We have been actively working for two years to improve, but unifying the data continues to be problematic.”
Agencies are demanding a more modular future
Agencies are moving toward modular, interoperable solutions that allow them to break free from rigid traditional systems and tailor their tech stacks to their specific needs. Some agencies are already making this shift by prioritizing emerging industry standards in all new technology they procure, including platforms with open APIs and those built natively on GTFS-rt.
This transition isn't just about swapping out old tools—it's about rethinking how technology works together to improve collaboration, drive smarter decisions, and ultimately enhance service delivery. Agencies have the power to shape the future by demanding solutions that meet these criteria. The question is—are agencies ready to take the next step?
Momentum is here. It’s thanks to pros like you.
Transit professionals have weathered an unprecedented storm over the last 5 years, and the industry is emerging stronger than ever. But the work isn’t over. Ridership may be rebounding, but funding uncertainties remain, and transit technology is experiencing a once-in-a-generation paradigm shift.
Continuing this momentum requires laser focus on what’s working. This means understanding ridership trends, making the most of available resources, and adapting to shifting demands with practical solutions.
The future of transit is being built right now—by agencies making practical choices that improve service and support their teams every step of the way.
