Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation: NAICS 485

About the Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation subsector

The transit and ground passenger transportation subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.

The transit and ground passenger transportation subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Urban Transit Systems: NAICS 4851
• Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation: NAICS 4852
• Taxi and Limousine Service: NAICS 4853
• School and Employee Bus Transportation: NAICS 4854
• Charter Bus Industry: NAICS 4855
• Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation: NAICS 4859

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in transit and ground passenger transportation. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025	Apr. 2025
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		489.1	486.3	(p)487.8	(p)489.9
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees		443.4	445.6	(p)448.7
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2024
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	12,620
Bus drivers, school
Bus drivers, transit and intercity	51,990
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	14,800
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for transit and ground passenger transportation.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in transit and ground passenger transportation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
Average hourly earnings		$27.97	$28.23	$28.18	(p)$28.16
Average weekly hours		35.4	34.0	33.8	(p)33.8
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
Average hourly earnings		$25.47	$25.87	$25.87	(p)$25.79
Average weekly hours		35.1	33.8	34.0	(p)33.8
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2024
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	29.53	29.72	61,420	61,830
Bus drivers, school
Bus drivers, transit and intercity	23.56	24.86	49,010	51,710
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	20.70	21.74	43,060	45,220
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in transit and ground passenger transportation. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series	2020	2021	2022	2023
Fatalities
Number of fatalities				87
There was a series break beginning with 2023 data due to NAICS 2022. Data for years prior to 2023 are available at www.bls.gov/iif.

Data series	2023
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	3.8
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.5
Cases involving days away from work	2.0
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.5
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in transit and ground passenger transportation.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2023	1st quarter 2024	2nd quarter 2024	3rd quarter 2024
Number of establishments
Private industry		21,871	(p)22,168	(p)22,341	(p)22,475
Local government		1,777	(p)1,780	(p)1,781	(p)1,783
State government		59	(p)58	(p)58	(p)61
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

This section presents productivity and related data for the industry, presented as the percent change from the previous year. Measures of total factor productivity (TFP) compare growth in output to the growth in a combination of inputs that include labor, capital, energy, materials, and services. Measures of labor productivity, or output per hour, compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked.

Data series	Back data	2020	2021	2022	2023
Total factor productivity (TFP)		6.2	6.0	1.9	5.7
Output		-31.9	16.6	33.1	21.0
Combined inputs		-35.9	10.0	30.6	14.4
Capital input		6.3	0.5	-3.3	-3.7
Labor input		-32.6	1.7	24.1	5.9
Labor productivity, output per hour		1.9	14.0	7.9	14.3

(Source: Productivity)

 

Data extracted on: May 20, 2025