Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Buses

Fewer People Are Riding the Bus Because There Are Fewer Buses to Ride

Source: The Century Foundation
In most big American cities, bus service shrank between 2006 and 2012. No wonder bus ridership is dropping too. Graphic: The Century Foundation
Source: The Century Foundation

Remember when the Great Recession decimated transit agency budgets, but the White House and Congress refused to step in and fund bus service while spending billions of dollars to subsidize car purchases? Well, the hangover continues to this day, leaving bus riders in the lurch.

Last year, bus ridership in America shrank 1 percent. While rail ridership grew 4 percent, enough to lift total ridership slightly, buses are still the workhorse of U.S. transit systems, accounting for most trips. If bus ridership is shrinking, something is wrong.

Jacob Anbinder at the Century Foundation has been poring over the data. He notes that in most of the nation's biggest cities, bus ridership was on the upswing until the recession. Since then there's been a noticeable falling off. His chart below shows bus ridership in America's ten largest urban regions:

New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Boston

It's not surprising that bus ridership fell when a lot of people were out of work, Anbinder says. What's disturbing is that bus ridership is still slumping even as the economy has picked back up.

But the explanation is simple enough. As Anbinder shows in the chart at the top of this post, a lot of transit agencies cut bus service during the recession, and for the most part it's still not back to pre-recession levels.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Is Sec. Duffy Holding NY Transit Hostage To Negotiate Away The Rest of America’s Transportation Future?

The federal Transportation secretary is using two large transit projects as a bargaining chip to bully Congress into passing a budget that could be disastrous for communities across the country.

October 3, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Shut It Down

The government shutdown looks like it will be just another excuse for the Trump administration to cancel transportation projects unless blue states bend the knee.

October 3, 2025

Can Pedestrian Pop-Ups Go Permanent in the U.S.?

Can temporary pedestrian pop-ups spur permanent change?

October 3, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Healthy Architecture, Healthy People

It is very unusual for an architecture project to pay any attention at all outside of the property line. And that has to change.

October 2, 2025

Report: A Third of Americans Can’t Rely On Cars — And 16 Million Have No Access At All

So why do we plan our cities like everyone can and does get behind the wheel every day?

October 2, 2025
See all posts