Key takeaways
- MTA New York City Transit is by far the largest U.S. transit agency, with about 2.63 billion unlinked passenger trips in 2023 — more than the next nine agencies combined.
- Chicago Transit Authority (279 million trips) and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (276 million) are next.
- New York has 10 agencies on the list and California 9.
- Nationally, U.S. transit provided 8.1 billion trips in 2025, up 6.4% from 2024, and nearly 3,000 agencies reported to the National Transit Database, according to the Federal Transit Administration.
The 50 largest U.S. transit agencies
Ranked by unlinked passenger trips in National Transit Database report year 2023, the latest agency ranking we could verify, with passenger miles. Agency names are as APTA lists them. Search by agency, city or state.
Showing all 50 agencies
| # | Agency | Trips, 2023 | Passenger miles, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MTA New York City TransitNew York, NY | 2,632,003,000 | 9,591,253,700 |
| 2 | Chicago Transit AuthorityChicago, IL | 279,146,500 | 1,090,677,600 |
| 3 | Los Angeles County Metro. Transp. Auth.Los Angeles, CA | 276,302,400 | 1,190,726,700 |
| 4 | Massachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityBoston, MA | 234,975,600 | 1,103,417,600 |
| 5 | Washington Metro. Area Transit AuthorityWashington, DC | 231,023,800 | 912,604,900 |
| 6 | New Jersey Transit CorporationNew York, NY | 198,590,100 | 2,314,384,000 |
| 7 | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transp. Auth.Philadelphia, PA | 197,264,900 | 834,809,500 |
| 8 | City and County of San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA | 139,127,700 | 265,976,500 |
| 9 | MTA Bus CompanyNew York, NY | 119,571,800 | 347,970,700 |
| 10 | MTA Long Island Rail RoadNew York, NY | 83,835,700 | 2,033,685,800 |
| 11 | King County Department of Metro TransitSeattle, WA | 78,886,800 | 301,530,500 |
| 12 | County of Miami-DadeMiami, FL | 77,961,900 | 414,129,000 |
| 13 | Metro. Transit Auth. of Harris County, TexasHouston, TX | 68,575,800 | 394,716,900 |
| 14 | San Diego Metropolitan Transit SystemSan Diego, CA | 68,511,400 | 386,122,700 |
| 15 | Metro-North Commuter Railroad CompanyNew York, NY | 66,645,300 | 1,150,894,900 |
| 16 | Denver Regional Transportation DistrictDenver, CO | 64,533,900 | 382,906,500 |
| 17 | Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Auth.Atlanta, GA | 62,093,000 | 352,116,000 |
| 18 | Maryland Transit AdministrationBaltimore, MD | 57,907,000 | 343,206,700 |
| 19 | Tri-County Metro. Transp. District of OregonPortland, OR | 57,442,700 | 231,430,400 |
| 20 | Port Authority Trans-Hudson CorporationNew York, NY | 55,108,900 | 268,404,800 |
| 21 | Regional Transp. Comm. of Southern NevadaLas Vegas, NV | 51,029,700 | 198,958,200 |
| 22 | San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit DistrictSan Francisco, CA | 50,764,400 | 681,315,300 |
| 23 | Dallas Area Rapid TransitDallas, TX | 48,736,400 | 283,376,200 |
| 24 | Metro TransitMinneapolis, MN | 44,977,100 | 175,173,900 |
| 25 | City and County of HonoluluHonolulu, HI | 40,117,500 | 193,327,800 |
| 26 | Pittsburgh Regional TransitPittsburgh, PA | 37,908,500 | 155,119,500 |
| 27 | Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Auth.Seattle, WA | 37,571,600 | 346,306,000 |
| 28 | Alameda-Contra Costa Transit DistrictSan Francisco, CA | 35,190,100 | 122,828,200 |
| 29 | Utah Transit AuthoritySalt Lake City, UT | 35,059,900 | 279,373,100 |
| 30 | Orange County Transportation AuthorityLos Angeles, CA | 32,674,700 | 137,085,600 |
| 31 | Northeast Illinois Reg. Commuter Railroad Corp.Chicago, IL | 31,988,100 | 706,105,700 |
| 32 | VIA Metropolitan TransitSan Antonio, TX | 27,965,400 | 137,411,400 |
| 33 | Capital Metropolitan Transportation Auth.Austin, TX | 24,332,400 | 122,011,600 |
| 34 | Santa Clara Valley Transportation AuthoritySan Jose, CA | 23,853,900 | 117,822,000 |
| 35 | Broward County Bd. of County CommissionersMiami, FL | 23,210,000 | 119,090,300 |
| 36 | Milwaukee CountyMilwaukee, WI | 22,735,000 | 75,456,900 |
| 37 | The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Auth.Cleveland, OH | 22,415,400 | 102,838,600 |
| 38 | Westchester CountyNew York, NY | 21,998,000 | 90,095,300 |
| 39 | County of NassauNew York, NY | 20,293,600 | 112,757,300 |
| 40 | Bi-State Development AgencySt. Louis, MO | 19,690,800 | 121,868,300 |
| 41 | City of Phoenix Public Transit DepartmentPhoenix, AZ | 19,524,300 | 76,499,300 |
| 42 | Central Florida Regional Transportation Auth.Orlando, FL | 18,418,200 | 111,018,400 |
| 43 | Washington State FerriesSeattle, WA | 18,241,100 | 131,769,100 |
| 44 | Long Beach TransitLos Angeles, CA | 16,803,000 | 51,874,400 |
| 45 | City of TucsonTucson, AZ | 16,759,200 | 57,986,400 |
| 46 | Pace - Suburban Bus DivisionChicago, IL | 16,050,000 | 112,988,000 |
| 47 | City of Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA | 15,482,700 | 39,711,900 |
| 48 | CTTRANSIT - Hartford DivisionHartford, CT | 15,128,500 | 66,810,000 |
| 49 | New York City Department of TransportationNew York, NY | 14,715,400 | 76,519,900 |
| 50 | Niagara Frontier Transportation AuthorityBuffalo, NY | 14,531,200 | 46,252,400 |
Transit nationally
- U.S. public transit provided 8.1 billion unlinked passenger trips in 2025, up 6.4% from 2024, across 19 modes.
- Riders traveled about 39.7 billion passenger miles in 2025, up 4.4%.
- Nearly 3,000 transit agencies reported to the National Transit Database for 2025, operating in 502 urbanized areas.
- The New York urbanized area accounts for more than 46% of the nation's transit trips.
Selling to transit agencies
Transit agencies are public authorities, city departments or regional districts, and many are special districts with their own boards. Capital projects and many purchases use Federal Transit Administration grants, which come with federal procurement requirements.
- Reach the right department. Operations, maintenance, fleet, IT, safety and security, and customer experience teams each own different purchases; the board approves major contracts.
- Follow the money. Watch FTA grant awards, state transit funding and agency capital programs for upcoming projects.
- Look beyond the giants. Hundreds of small and mid-size agencies buy the same categories with smaller teams and fewer vendors calling.
See our special districts and transit page and selling transportation technology to government.
About this data
Agency rankings come from Table 1 of the American Public Transportation Association's 2025 Public Transportation Fact Book, which ranks the 50 largest agencies by unlinked passenger trips using National Transit Database data for report year 2023. An unlinked passenger trip counts each boarding, so a ride with one transfer counts twice. National totals for 2025 come from the Federal Transit Administration's 2025 National Transit Summaries and Trends.
Sources
- APTA 2025 Public Transportation Fact Book, Table 1: The 50 Largest Transit Agencies (Ranked by Unlinked Passenger Trips), based on FTA NTD report year 2023
- Federal Transit Administration, 2025 National Transit Summaries and Trends
More “largest” lists
- The 100 Busiest U.S. Airports (2025 FAA Data)
- The 100 Largest U.S. Cities by Population (2025)
- The 100 Largest U.S. Counties by Population (2025)
- Largest Electric Cooperatives in the US by Customers
- Largest Fire Departments & 911 Centers in the U.S.
- Largest Government Fleets in the U.S.
- Largest Parks and Recreation Departments in the U.S.
- Largest Police Departments and Sheriff's Offices in the US
- Largest Public Hospitals & County Health Systems in the U.S.
- Largest Public Pension Funds in the U.S.
- Largest Public Power Utilities in the US by Customers
- Largest Public Universities & Community College Systems
- Largest Public Works Departments & State DOT Spending
- 100 Largest School Districts in the US by Enrollment
- Largest State Budgets
- Largest Prison Systems in the U.S. by State
- Largest Water Utilities in the U.S. by Population Served