Urban Transit Systems Labor Productivity

On June 26, 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) updated measures of productivity and costs through 2023 for urban transit systems (NAICS 4851). These measures were originally introduced on August 22, 2018. More information can be found in an article written by BLS economists in the Monthly Labor Review (MLR). The current data reference period for these data series lag other service industries, including those in the transportation sector, by one year. BLS cannot publish urban transit systems productivity series until all source data based on the latest fully closed report year are available.

Urban transit systems is a passenger transportation industry primarily operated by state and local governments. There are various modes of transportation included in this industry, including buses, subways, and light rail systems. These systems are of vital importance to the well-being of America’s urban population, as they provide access to jobs, education, health-care, and recreation for millions of people each day. In 2023, urban transit systems employed 406,454 workers, which is more than the rail transportation industry (about 154,100) but fewer than the scheduled air transportation industry (about 495,600).

In order to measure how efficiently transportation services are provided, the BLS productivity program has developed a measure of labor productivity for urban transit systems. Underlying this measure are series of both output and hours worked. These series make use of data from the Federal Transportation Administration’s National Transit Database (NTD) and from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Chart 1 shows that labor productivity growth in urban transit systems was modestly positive from 2007 to 2013, growing by an annual rate of 1.4 percent.^[1] Over that period, the annual growth of output outpaced that of hours worked, 1.5 percent to 0.1 percent. However, between 2013 and 2019, the trends in output and hours worked reversed, with output declining 1.0 percent per year while hours worked grew by 2.5 percent per year. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a dramatic disruption in the operations of urban transit systems nationwide. Due to decreased ridership,^[2] output fell by 40.3 percent while hours worked declined by 6.2 percent. This caused a drop in labor productivity of 36.3 percent in 2020. The impact of the pandemic continued to be seen in 2021. Output fell by another 30.5 percent while hours worked dropped by 3.4 percent. Consequently, labor productivity declined by 28.1 percent from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, output of urban transit systems bounced back - increasing 34.2 percent. Hours worked declined very slightly (-0.6 percent) which resulted in productivity growth of 35.0 percent. Output continued to increase in 2023, this time by 17.2 percent. Hours worked grew 7.0 percent and labor productivity gained 9.6 percent in 2023.

Chart 1 data. Urban transit systems indexes of labor productivity, output, and hours worked, 2007-2023

 

Urban transit systems include various transportation modes (see the FAQ section below for a full list of these modes). Let’s take a closer look at how transit modes have contributed to industry output growth since 2007.

 Table 1. Urban transit systems by major mode, passenger miles traveled (in millions), 2007–23

Year	Total bus (1)	Regional rail (2)	Heavy rail	Surface rail (3)
2007	20,424	11,137	16,138	1,938
2008	21,204	11,032	16,850	2,090
2009	21,105	11,129	16,805	2,206
2010	20,574	10,774	16,407	2,183
2011	20,709	11,384	17,317	2,303
2012	21,423	11,194	17,516	2,424
2013	21,553	11,819	18,005	2,489
2014	21,732	11,691	18,339	2,593
2015	21,203	11,782	18,283	2,541
2016	20,822	11,856	18,357	2,674
2017	19,623	12,336	17,591	2,698
2018	18,980	12,694	16,914	2,653
2019	18,738	12,804	17,366	2,603
2020	12,852	6,093	8,947	1,767
2021	8,910	3,746	7,405	1,001
2022	11,067	5,977	9,802	1,427
2023	13,020	7,105	11,309	1,680
Annual percent change, 2007-2023	-2.8%	-2.8%	-2.2%	-0.9%
Notes:   (1) This includes bus, commuter bus, and bus rapid transit. (2) This includes commuter rail and hybrid rail. (3) This includes light rail, cable car, and streetcar. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 1 shows that surface rail, which includes both light rail, cable car, and streetcar, recorded the greatest increase in passenger miles traveled (PMT) prior to the pandemic. Surface rail PMT increased from 1.9 billion in 2007 to 2.6 billion in 2019 – a rate of 2.5 percent annually. The next fastest growing transit mode was regional rail, which increased PMT from 11.1 billion to 12.8 billion over the same period (an annual rate of 1.2 percent). On the other hand, passenger miles traveled on buses fell between 2007 and 2019, 0.7 percent per year.

All major modes of transportation in the NTD data recorded steep declines in ridership in 2020 and 2021. Regional rail PMT declined by over two-thirds, from 12.8 billion in 2019 down to only 3.7 billion in 2021. Heavy rail, which consists predominantly of subway systems, also saw a severe drop in ridership. PMT in heavy rail fell from 17.4 billion in 2019 down to 7.4 billion in 2021. Similarly, miles traveled on bus systems fell to 8.9 billion in 2021, fewer than half of their level in 2019 (18.7 billion).

In 2022 and 2023, ridership on all major modes of transportation increased substantially. Regional rail had the fastest growth, as PMT increased an average of 37.7 percent per year from 2021 to 2023. In terms of sheer numbers, bus systems had the most growth, with 4.1 billion PMT more in 2023 than in 2021. Another way to evaluate 2023 ridership is to compare the results with the pre-pandemic totals of 2019. Bus systems have had the greatest recovery using this metric. Bus PMT in 2023 was 69.5 percent of the level in 2019.

According to a report from APTA, "after falling to 20 percent of pre-pandemic levels in April 2020, public transit ridership has recovered to 79 percent of pre-pandemic levels" in 2023.^[3] APTA reports that there were several factors driving this increase in ridership. These include return-to-office policies among white collar commuters and increased usage of late-night bus routes by restaurant and nightlife employees. APTA also notes that transit system ridership tracked closely with job growth generally. This was the case in 2023 as urban area economies had high levels of overall job gains.

Another important cause of increased output was new system openings and expansions. In October 2022, a new bus rapid transit system called the SunRunner opened in St. Petersburg, Florida. The SunRunner is an important transportation link for both tourists and commuters as it connects both business and leisure zones in Florida's densely populated Pinellas county.^[4] The SunRunner began reporting passenger miles traveled to the NTD in 2023 along with three other noteworthy transit systems. These were:

• The Birmingham Xpress bus rapid transit system which crosses the city of Birmingham, Alabama from east to west^[5]
• The Honolulu Skyline heavy rail train which travels around Pearl Harbor from East Kapoleai to Aloha Stadium^[6]
• The Galveston Island Trolley, a heritage streetcar system that was renovated and returned to service in Galveston, Texas after a suspension of over a decade^[7]

Chart 2 compares the productivity trend of urban transit systems with three other transportation industries for which BLS publishes productivity measures. (Both predominantly passenger- and freight-carrying industries are included here.) Productivity growth in urban transit systems was about the median for these industries between 2007 and 2013. However, urban transit systems’ decline in labor productivity from 2013 to 2019 was unique among the illustrated industries.

Chart 2 data. Labor productivity indexes for selected transportation industries, 2007-2023 

 

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 affected these transportation industries in different ways. Both urban transit systems and air transportation had steep declines in output, as passenger travel was sharply curtailed. At the same time, these industries both maintained a relatively consistent level of employment. As a result, both air transportation and urban transit systems had historically large declines in the productivity index in 2020. In 2021 there was a resurgence of leisure travel, causing output and productivity to bounce back in air transportation. On the other hand, ridership and productivity continued to decline in urban transit systems in 2021. This likely reflects the continuing lack of demand for business travel, especially commuting. Productivity in urban transit systems increased substantially in 2022 and 2023, with the gradual increase in commuter travel.

Because flat or declining output (ridership) has contributed to the poor productivity performance of transit systems, it can be instructive to look at potential riders’ alternative options. Commuting and other work-related purposes are the most important reason^[8] for using urban transit systems. The Census Bureau’s 5-year American Community Survey^[9] provides data on commuting modes. From the 2009 release (2005-09 data) through the 2020 release (2016-20 data), the share of Americans who commute to work using public transportation reported by the ACS has remained stable at about 5%. Given the increasing number of overall trips to and from work estimated by the ACS over time, this means that prior to the pandemic, more Americans than ever are using transit to commute to or from work.

Through 2019, the decline in transit ridership came from non-work related travel, such as shopping, errands, and social and recreational activities.^[10] These are activities where other options could substitute for transit use. Private driving is the most common mode of travel nationwide. Other substitutes can include ride-hailing services, on-line shopping, and social media. Notably, the steady decline in transit ridership nationally since 2014 coincides with the increasing popularity of these information technology-enabled trends.

In the 2021 release of the ACS (2017-21 data), the share of workers commuting via public transportation fell to 4.2 percent. This drop in public transit commuting can be blamed on the pandemic, as more workers used private transportation or instead worked from home. Naturally, this change in commuting patterns caused the steep decline in ridership that we see in the output series of urban transit systems. The pandemic's effects are still evident in the 2023 ACS release (2019-23 data). This release shows that the percent of workers commuting via public transportation fell further, to 3.5 percent.

Chart 3 decomposes the measure of hours worked for urban transit systems. From 2007 to 2013, a modest fall in employees’ average weekly hours (-0.6 percent per year) counteracted a similarly modest rise (0.6 percent per year) in industry employment. (Average weekly hours worked are equivalent to annual hours divided by 52.) As a result, total hours worked for the industry were about the same in 2013 as in 2007, increasing by 0.1 percent per year.

Chart 3 data. Urban transit systems indexes of employment, average weekly hours, and hours worked, 2007-2023 

 

From 2013 to 2023, employment increased by an average of 0.8 percent per year, compared to a slight uptick in average weekly hours worked per employee of 0.3 percent per year. Thus, industry hours worked rose by an annual rate of 1.1 percent per year, mostly because there were more workers who each worked a relatively stable number of hours. This is still the case when considering the entire 2007-23 time period measured by BLS: growth in employment was responsible for all of the increase in total hours worked.

Questions and Answers

• How is this industry defined? ▸
  • Urban transit systems (NAICS 4851) include establishments that transport the general public over regular routes and on regular schedules within a metropolitan area and its adjacent nonurban areas. This definition encompasses various modes of transportation. Our measure of labor productivity includes city buses, commuter buses, bus rapid transit, trolley buses, heavy rail (i.e. subways), light rail, commuter rail, hybrid rail, streetcars, cable cars, and inclined planes.
• How is output defined for urban transit systems and what sources are used to calculate it?▸

  • The BLS productivity program frequently defines the output of transportation industries (such as air transportation and line-haul railroads) as the distance passengers or freight are carried. Urban transit systems conforms to this precedent. Annual output is defined as the total number of miles that passengers travel in revenue service. These data come from the NTD and are given the acronym PMT (passenger miles traveled).

    It is important to distinguish PMT from other types of data used in some measures of efficiency or effectiveness. These include passenger trips, vehicle miles, or seats available. While these alternative metrics have their uses, PMT are the superior data for measuring labor productivity. This is because PMT best capture the total volume of service consumed by the public.

• How are passenger miles traveled (PMT) for different modes of transportation aggregated into an industry output index?▸
  • The total expenses (operating expenses and capital expenses) of the transit modes serve as weights in the aggregation of PMT. In our model, total expenses serve as a proxy for the quality of the transit modes. We assume that municipalities are willing to pay more to build and operate modes of transportation that provide benefits such as speed, reliability, or comfort. Other benefits may accrue to the community such as traffic abatement or pollution reduction. In summary, transportation modes with higher total expenses (such as light rail) are assumed to be of higher quality, and are therefore given more weight in the industry output index.
• What sources are used to determine hours worked?▸

  • Hours worked combines data from both NTD and APTA. APTA provides the count of total industry workers. APTA data are used because they include both directly operated employment (i.e. vehicles are operated directly by a transit agency’s own employees) as well as contracted employment. An adjustment is made to exclude the employment of transportation modes which fall outside the NAICS definition.

    Hours worked are then calculated by multiplying the total employment by a measure of average employee hours. However, APTA does not report employee hours. Therefore, we use NTD data, which provide employee hours worked for all modes (albeit only for directly operated transit systems).

 

Related resources

Productivity in transit: a new measure of labor productivity for urban transit systems

Industries at a Glance: Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation

Overview of BLS Productivity Statistics

 

Notes