Public transit systems play an important role in transporting people within our major cities. Buses, trains, streetcars, and ferry boats transport more than 27 million people each day in the United States. But U.S. public transit ridership has been declining for the last five years, and the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the decline.

Public transit ridership is measured by “unlinked passenger trips,” with a trip defined as whenever a person boards a transit vehicle, including transfers. Since 1970, the number of unlinked passenger trips is up by about 37% to almost 10 billion trips in 2019. Transit miles were also up by more than 15% between 2000 and 2018, keeping pace with total U.S. vehicle miles traveled.