This report from the Federal Transit Administration shows some interesting information which I’ll use in a coming blog entry. With that in mind I’ve posted it here. Portland is at #7 in this list, which amounts to TriMet basically. The really shocking thing though, is the massive drop off after the top 5. I also find it somewhat shocking how much lower San Francisco is than New York in trips per capita. The last bit I’ll mention is how amazed I am that Honolulu, Hawaii is in the top 5! I wasn’t aware they even had a notable transit system, but this could be because of other underlying facts, such as that it is an island. The original Excel Spreadsheet can be downloaded by right clicking and selecting save as.
| UZA NAME | AREA (SQ MI) | POPULATION | 2006 TRANSIT UNLINKED PASSENGER TRIPS (MILLIONS) |
TRANSIT UNLINKED PASSENGER TRIPS PER CAPITA |
| New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT | 3,353 | 17,799,861 | 3,556.9 | 199.8 |
| San Francisco-Oakland, CA | 527 | 3,228,605 | 420.2 | 130.1 |
| Washington, DC-VA-MD | 1,157 | 3,933,920 | 461.0 | 117.2 |
| Honolulu, HI | 154 | 718,182 | 71.7 | 99.8 |
| Boston, MA-NH-RI | 1,736 | 4,032,484 | 386.7 | 95.9 |
| Chicago, IL-IN | 2,123 | 8,307,904 | 610.7 | 73.5 |
| Portland, OR-WA | 474 | 1,583,138 | 107.5 | 67.9 |
| Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1,800 | 5,149,079 | 342.0 | 66.4 |
| Seattle, WA | 954 | 2,712,205 | 168.6 | 62.2 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | 1,668 | 11,789,487 | 700.4 | 59.4 |
| Baltimore, MD | 683 | 2,076,354 | 108.5 | 52.3 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 286 | 1,314,357 | 67.7 | 51.5 |
| Denver-Aurora, CO | 499 | 1,984,889 | 86.6 | 43.6 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 231 | 887,650 | 38.6 | 43.5 |
| Atlanta, GA | 1,963 | 3,499,840 | 148.5 | 42.4 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 852 | 1,753,136 | 71.7 | 40.9 |
| Cleveland, OH | 647 | 1,786,647 | 70.2 | 39.3 |
| Austin, TX | 318 | 901,920 | 35.4 | 39.2 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 487 | 1,308,913 | 50.7 | 38.7 |
| Madison, WI | 114 | 329,533 | 12.3 | 37.3 |
| San Diego, CA | 782 | 2,674,436 | 96.1 | 35.9 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | 894 | 2,388,593 | 85.2 | 35.7 |
| Miami, FL | 1,116 | 4,919,036 | 162.7 | 33.1 |
| San Antonio, TX | 408 | 1,327,554 | 42.7 | 32.1 |
| San Juan, PR | 892 | 2,216,616 | 71.1 | 32.1 |
| Reno, NV | 119 | 303,689 | 9.0 | 29.5 |
| Charlotte, NC-SC | 435 | 758,927 | 21.2 | 27.9 |
| Spokane, WA-ID | 143 | 334,858 | 9.1 | 27.1 |
| Houston, TX | 1,295 | 3,822,509 | 102.5 | 26.8 |
| San Jose, CA | 260 | 1,538,312 | 40.9 | 26.6 |
| Syracuse, NY | 180 | 402,267 | 10.5 | 26.1 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 829 | 2,077,662 | 52.3 | 25.2 |
| Sacramento, CA | 369 | 1,393,498 | 3 4.7 |
24.9 |
| Tucson, AZ | 291 | 720,425 | 17.8 | 24.7 |
| Buffalo, NY | 367 | 976,703 | 23.8 | 24.3 |
| Albany, NY | 284 | 558,947 | 12.9 | 23.0 |
| Phoenix-Mesa, AZ | 799 | 2,907,049 | 64.3 | 22.1 |
| Orlando, FL | 453 | 1,157,431 | 25.3 | 21.9 |
| Fresno, CA | 139 | 554,923 | 11.9 | 21.5 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 1,407 | 4,145,659 | 86.0 | 20.7 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 672 | 1,503,262 | 29.3 | 19.5 |
| Hartford, CT | 469 | 851,535 | 16.3 | 19.2 |
| El Paso, TX-NM | 219 | 674,801 | 12.4 | 18.4 |
| Dayton, OH | 324 | 703,444 | 12.9 | 18.3 |
| Rochester, NY | 295 | 694,396 | 12.6 | 18.2 |
| Providence, RI-MA | 504 | 1,174,548 | 21.2 | 18.0 |
| Richmond, VA | 437 | 818,836 | 14.3 | 17.5 |
| Louisville, KY-IN | 391 | 863,582 | 15.0 | 17.4 |
| Springfield, MA-CT | 309 | 573,610 | 9.9 | 17.3 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 527 | 1,394,439 | 24.0 | 17.2 |
| Bakersfield, CA | 110 | 396,125 | 6.6 | 16.6 |
| New Haven, CT | 285 | 531,314 | 8.8 | 16.5 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino, CA | 439 | 1,506,816 | 22.7 | 15.1 |
| Stockton, CA | 74 | 313,392 | 4.7 | 14.9 |
| Albuquerque, NM | 224 | 598,191 | 8.8 | 14.6 |
| Flint, MI | 231 | 365,096 | 5.3 | 14.6 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | 257 | 539,080 | 7.5 | 13.8 |
| Columbus, OH | 398 | 1,133,193 | 15.0 | 13.2 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 411 | 882,295 | 11.7 | 13.2 |
| Detroit, MI | 1,262 | 3,903,377 | 51.3 | 13.1 |
| Toledo, OH-MI | 202 | 503,008 | 6.2 | 12.4 |
| Oxnard, CA | 76 | 337,591 | 4.2 | 12.4 |
| Akron, OH | 308 | 570,215 | 7.0 | 12.3 |
| Des Moines, IA | 140 | 370,505 | 4.5 | 12.2 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | 802 | 2,062,339 | 24.9 | 12.1 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 400 | 972,091 | 11.7 | 12.1 |
| Modesto, CA | 86 | 310,945 | 3.7 | 12.0 |
| Scranton, PA | 159 | 385,237 | 4.6 | 11.8 |
| Concord, CA | 176 | 552,624 | 6.4 | 11.6 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford, CT-NY | 465 | 888,890 | 10.1 | 11.4 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 584 | 1,361,744 | 15.2 | 11.2 |
| Raleigh, NC | 320 | 541,527 | 5.9 | 10.9 |
| New Orleans, LA | 198 | 1,009,283 | 10.7 | 10.6 |
| Nashville-Davidson, TN | 431 | 749,935 | 7.9 | 10.5 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem, PA-NJ | 290 | 576,408 | 5.6 | 9.7 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 281 | 479,019 | 4.6 | 9.6 |
| Cape Coral, FL | 192 | 329,757 | 3.1 | 9.3 |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | 290 | 343,509 | 3.1 | 9.0 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 553 | 1,218,919 | 10.0 | 8.2 |
| Knoxville, TN | 339 | 419,830 | 3.4 | 8.2 |
| Worcester, MA-CT | 250 | 429,882 | 3.4 | 8.0 |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 197 | 466,122 | 3.5 | 7.5 |
| Lancaster, PA | 199 | 323,554 | 2.3 | 7.3 |
| Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | 270 | 559,229 | 3.9 | 6.9 |
| Harrisburg, PA | 208 | 362,782 | 2.5 | 6.8 |
| Little Rock, AR | 206 | 360,331 | 2.4 | 6.7 |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 231 | 423,410 | 2.8 | 6.5 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 226 | 626,623 | 3.9 | 6.3 |
| Columbia, SC | 269 | 420,537 | 2.5 | 6.1 |
| Birmingham, AL | 392 | 663,615 | 3.7 | 5.5 |
| Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | 265 | 351,982 | 1.9 | 5.5 |
| Wichita, KS | 179 | 422,301 | 2.3 | 5.5 |
| Tulsa, OK | 261 | 558,329 | 2.7 | 4.8 |
| Youngstown, OH-PA | 228 | 417,437 | 1.7 | 4.2 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 322 | 747,003 | 2.9 | 3.9 |
| Pensacola, FL-AL | 219 | 323,783 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne, FL | 220 | 393,289 | 1.5 | 3.8 |
| Mobile, AL | 211 | 317,605 | 0.9 | 3.0 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 232 | 335,630 | 1.0 | 2.8 |
| McAllen, TX | 314 | 523,144 | 0.06 | 0.11 |
Transit Sleuth 
I don’t know if you realize it, but TriMet cites that very document in their Dirty Words brochure, saying that "more people ride TriMet than any other transit system our size". But note that these might be metro areas–the "WA" may mean that Vancouver is included. And that could explain the difference between NYC and SF, if the former has relatively less suburban areas.
Regarding Honolulu, they’ve won APTA’s "best transit system" award multiple times. Also, that island group its on is fairly small and far away from any mainland, so no one is traveling far away on land and prices are higher because of transportation costs. In addition, they may do a good job attracting tourists.
There are three reasons why cities rank high on this list:
1. They are dense (SF)
2. They have excellent transit systems (Portland)
3. They are poor (Baltimore, Las Vegas)
Many cities obviously hit multiple criteria.
Ranking here here could mean a city is doing transit right — or it could not.
La$ Vega$, poor? Nooo… 🙂 Seriously, I know junkets to Las Vegas aren’t looking real good right now, and the casino workers might not get paid that great. And there at least was an extreme demand for housing.
If they’re free that, answers a demand question, pending too the average income level that really does answer a lot of questions.
However as pointed out in the table, San Francisco and New York are higher than Hawaii, and they absolutely charge and cover a LOT more of their transit system at the fare box.
Free, is by no means better, it is a mere myth that it will even increase usage all that much. Cost, since all passenger transportation is so highly subsidized in this country, is rarely a serious consideration when traveling.