Who’s Riding Transit Today?
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) conducted a quick-turnaround survey in 2024 to give a snapshot of today’s Bay Area transit riders. MTC collected data from 16,500 passengers to create the report. Here’s what it found.
Rider demographics
Transit riders are more likely to be Black or Latine than the Bay Area as a whole and less likely to be White or Asian than before the pandemic. They are four times as likely to live in poverty as the average Bay Area resident and tend to be lower income.
About 8% of transit riders surveyed have a disability that impacts their ability to get around. And 65% don’t have access to a private vehicle they could use if they weren’t able to ride transit.
These figures show how essential public transit is. Many riders would be stranded and have difficulty affording a car or rideshare rides if they couldn’t take a train or bus to get where they need to go. Public transit is also a lifeline for people who can’t drive due to a disability. And the data shows the critical role transit plays in lifting people out of poverty by providing affordable mobility to educational and employment opportunities.
Where people are going
The share of people taking transit to work is down from pre-pandemic numbers. Currently, around 50% of riders are commuting to a job; before 2020, that figure was 60%.
Still, almost 60% take transit at least five days a week. And that number isn’t likely to go down; 91% in the survey expected to take transit the same amount or more next year. Transform is working on a regional transit measure to ensure Bay Area operators have the funding they need to keep these vital services in place.
Room for improvement
While a majority of transit riders (58%) feel safe or very safe on transit, survey respondents have a vision for a better transit system. The number one improvement riders would like to see is increased frequency. When trains and buses come more often, transit becomes a more reliable mobility option, which then increases ridership in a virtuous circle. More frequent transit also increases safety, because riders aren’t waiting at a bus stop or on a train platform for as long. Transform’s Ride Fearlessly report highlighted frequency, as well as cleanliness, another requested improvement.
Riders would also like to see lower fares and more reliable service. Reliability is another key to improving safety, as riders can count on a bus or train arriving on time and not being stranded for an uncomfortably long time waiting for a bus or train that doesn’t arrive.
Transform is currently working on a white paper to address transit affordability. Our goal is not only to preserve our current transit systems but to transform them into the dependable, efficient, and accessible public transportation Bay Area residents want and need.
Read the survey report.
