Denver public transit ridership lags pre-pandemic levels
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Public transit ridership in the Denver area is at 62% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest American Public Transportation Association data.
- That's based on September 2023 ridership as compared to September 2019.
Why it matters: Public transit is key to cities' broader health and vibrancy.
- It makes for cleaner, greener cities, opens up possibilities for those who can't afford a car, and frees up parking lots to be turned into housing, green space and more.
Of note: The Regional Transportation District's free-fare campaign in July and August boosted ridership by 10%, according to the transit agency, and slashed an estimated 9 million vehicle miles traveled, according to a recent analysis.
Zoom out: Ridership appears to be faring better in Colorado Springs. The city is at about 82% of pre-pandemic levels, the national data shows.
The big picture: Of around 100 U.S. metro areas with more than 500,000 people, September 2023 public transit ridership was at or above 100% of September 2019 levels in just nine.
- Poughkeepsie, New York (150.3%); Worcester, Massachusetts (141%) and Youngstown, Ohio (130%) had the highest ridership rates this past September compared to four years earlier.
- Nationally, "ridership recovered throughout 2022 and 2023 to stand at 77% of pre-pandemic levels in November 2023," per APTA's latest big-picture data.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Poughkeepsie, Worcester and Youngstown had the highest ridership rates in September as compared to the same month in 2019 (not Poughkeepsie, Harrisburg and Worcester). Also, only nine major metro areas had ridership at or above September 2019 levels, not 12.