October 2023 Ridership Trends
November 20, 2023
System-wide ridership in October was 67% of pre-COVID October 2019 ridership:
System-wide ridership increased 16% from October 2022. On average there were approximately 96,842 more riders per day in October 2023 compared to October 2022. This is based on the calendar month.
Average daily ridership was 710,564 unlinked passenger trips across all modes.
The methodology to calculate the Heavy Rail ridership has been adjusted this month to account for the current rates of fare evasion on this mode. The 23% spike in ridership relative to October 2022 is largely due to this calculation adjustment. Heavy rail ridership is at 59% of pre-pandemic levels based on revenue ridership data. This is the highest recovery rate since the start of the pandemic.
System-wide ridership in October was the highest since the start of the pandemic.
All modes experienced the highest ridership since the start of the pandemic.
Bus and Trackless Trolley ridership has increased 11% from October 2022 (353,201) to October 2023 (390,319). On bus - we're see the strongest recovery on Sunday - however weekday ridership has experienced strong growth in the Fall. Ridership recovery is strongest during the midday hours (9AM – 3PM). During the 2PM and 7PM hours - the ridership recovery is over 80%. Routes with a 15 minute or greater frequency are carrying 76% of baseline ridership. The five routes with the highest recovery rates are: Route 49 (104%), Route 47M (92%), Route 42 (91%), Route 21 (90%), and Route 54 (90%).
On Trolleys - ridership recovery is at 66% as of October 2023 when compared to the pre-COVID October 2019 total. October ridership was the highest both in terms of the total number of unlinked passenger trips and recovery rate.
Ridership recovery on Regional Rail is at 56% as of October 2023 when compared to the pre-COVID October 2019 total. Ridership has also increased 16% relative to October 2022 (an increase of 10,353 unlinked trips per day). This is the highest total ridership numbersince the start of the pandemic.
