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TheUnited States is served by a wide array ofpublic transportation, including various forms ofbus,rail,ferry, and sometimes,airline services. Most public transit systems are in urban areas with enough density and public demand to require public transportation; most US cities have some form of public transit.[1] In more auto-centric suburban localities, public transit is generally less frequent and less common. Most public transit services in the United States are either national, regional/commuter, or local.
In the United States,public transportation is sometimes used synonymously withalternative transportation, meaning every form of mobility except driving alone by automobile.[2] This can sometimes includecarpooling,[3]vanpooling,[4] on-demand mobility (i.e.Uber,Lyft,Bird,Lime),[5] infrastructure that is oriented toward bicycles (i.e.bike lanes,sharrows,cycle tracks, andbike trails),[6] andparatransit service.[7]
Most intercity rail service in the United States is publicly funded at all tiers of government.[1]Amtrak, the national rail system, provides service across the entire contiguous United States, but the frequency of Amtrak service varies. Amtrak'sNortheast Corridor is the location of the only operatinghigh speed rail network in the Americas: theAcela Express.[8]
Regional and urban rail services are primarily fixed on a major city or a state.[9] Several cities have light rail systems which operate generally in the core of the city and their surrounding suburbs.
As of 2023, there is only one for-profit, private, intercity passenger rail service in the United States, which isBrightline in Florida.[10]
There are two common types of urban bus service in the United States: local bus systems in urban areas using diesel or electric buses on the public streets orbus rapid transit (BRT) on its own right-of-way, andintercity buses. Nearly every major city in the United States offers some form of bus service, which have flexible routes on existing streets and make frequent stops. Bus rapid transit attempts to mimic the speed of a light rail system by operating on a separate right-of-way. Most inter-city bus service is private for-profit ventures, although they normally used publicly subsidized highways.
Several coastal cities offer ferry service linking localities that are across large bodies of water where constructing road and railway bridges is not financially viable. Ferry service sometimes is pedestrian only but sometimes may offer platforms for automobiles and public transit vehicles depending on the vessel used.
Long-distance public transit too far to travel by rail or bus is typically undertaken by plane.[1] Most airports in major regions are situated on the peripheries of major cities and are publicly owned, while airlines are typically owned by for-profit corporations.
After the rise of automobiles in the first half of the 20th century, urban transit companies went out of business and ridership declined.[11][12]
In the 21st century, the U.S. has a low level of public transport compared to other developed Western nations, which has been relatively consistent according to a study covering 1980 through 2010.
A 2012 comparison among 14 western countries found the US in last place in annual public transport trips per capita with 24 trips. The next to last country was theNetherlands with 51 trips andSwitzerland was ranked first with 237.
Reasons for the U.S. having a lower demand for public transport than Europe include lower density cities, tax policy, and the high car ownership in American cities.[13] In some cities, there has been opposition to public transit on the grounds that it would increase crime.[14]
As of March 2020,Amtrak provides public railway transportation on 35 lines, with services concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Northeast, California, and the Midwest. Amtrak also operatesits own long distance bus system to support its train network. TheAuto Train is available from Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida that is capable of carrying along passengers’ vehicles.[15]
In 2021, Amtrak plans to deploy a fleet of 28 new Acela trainsets to serve theNortheast Corridor. The first of these trains are currently undergoing a nine month high-speed testing phase and will include personal comforts such as outlets, USB ports, improved Wi-Fi access, and an overall improvement in interior space design allowing 25 percent more passengers. The trains will travel between Boston and Washington D.C. multiple times a day, a route 3.5 million customers took in 2019.[16]
Information and statistics on intercity bus travel in the United States is available through the Federal Transit Administration'sNational Transit Database and theIntercity Bus Atlas at theBureau of Transportation Statistics.[17][18]
In the mid-1950s, over 2,000 buses operated in the U.S., including those of byGreyhound Lines,Trailways, and other companies connected 15,000 cities and towns. Passenger volume decreased as a result of expanding road and air travel, andurban decay that caused many neighborhoods with bus depots to become more dangerous.
In 1960, U.S. intercity buses carried 140 million riders. By 1990, the rate decreased to 40 million, and continued to decrease through 2006.[19]
By 1997, intercity bus transportation accounted for only 3.6% of travel in the United States.[20] In the late 1990s,Chinatown bus lines that connectedManhattan withBoston andPhiladelphia's Chinatowns began operating. They became popular with non-Chinese college students and others who wanted inexpensive transportation, and between 1997 and 2007 Greyhound lost 60% of its market share in theNortheastern United States to the Chinatown buses.
During the following decade, new bus lines such asMegabus andBoltBus emulated the Chinatown buses' practices of low prices and curbside stops on a much larger scale, both in the originalNortheast Corridor and elsewhere, while introducingyield management techniques to the industry.[19][21][22]
By 2010, curbside buses' annual passenger volume had risen by 33% and they accounted for more than 20% of all bus trips.[19] One analyst estimated that curbside buses that year carried at least 2.4 billion passenger miles in the Northeast Corridor, compared to 1.7 billion passenger miles for Amtrak trains.[21] Traditional depot-based bus lines also grew, benefiting from what theAmerican Bus Association called "the Megabus effect",[19] and both Greyhound and its subsidiary Yo! Bus, which competed directly with the Chinatown buses, benefited after thefederal government shut down several Chinatown lines in June 2012.[22]
Between 2006 and 2014, U.S. intercity buses focused on medium-haul trips between 200 and 300 miles; airplanes performed the bulk of longer trips and automobiles shorter ones. For most medium-haul trips curbside bus fares were less than the cost of automobile gasoline, and one tenth that ofAmtrak. Buses are also four times morefuel-efficient than automobiles. TheirWi-Fi service is also popular; one study estimated that 92% of Megabus and BoltBus passengers planned to use an electronic device.[19] New lower fares introduced by Greyhound on traditional medium-distance routes and rising gasoline prices have increased ridership across the network and made bus travel cheaper than all alternatives.[citation needed]
Effective June 25, 2014, Greyhound reintroduced many much longer bus routes, includingNew York City-Los Angeles,Los Angeles-Vancouver, and others, while increasing frequencies on existing long-distance and ultra-long-distance buses routes. This turned back the tide of shortening bus routes and puts Greyhound back in the position of competing with long-distance road trips, airlines, and trains. Long distance buses were to haveWi-Fi,power outlets, and extra legroom, sometimes extra recline, and were to be cleaned, refueled, and driver-changed at major stations along the way, coinciding with Greyhound's eradication ofoverbooking. It also represented Greyhound's traditional bus expansion over the expansion of curbside bus lines.[23]
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway, is abus-based public transport system designed to improvecapacity andreliability relative to a conventional bus system.[24] Typically, a BRT system includesroadways that are dedicated to buses, and givespriority to buses atintersections where buses may interact with othertraffic; alongside design features to improve accessibility and reducedelays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or purchasingfares. BRT aims to provide "fast, comfortable, and cost-effective services at metro-level capacities".[24]
In the United States several moderately sized cities have BRT as an alternative to light rail due to perceived costs and political will. Notable examples of moderately sized cities with BRT as their fulcrum of public transportation include theSilver Line inGrand Rapids, Michigan, theGRTC Pulse inRichmond, Virginia, and theBusPlus inAlbany, New York. Several satellite and suburban cities to larger cities also have bus rapid transit systems as secondary public transit services to light rail and commuter rail. This includes theDenver suburb ofFort Collins'MAX Bus Rapid Transit system, and theMetroway system in theWashington, D.C. suburbs ofArlington andAlexandria, Virginia.
Some major cities have their own BRT routes within city limits that function as their own rapid transit line, or as auxiliary routes to the rail lines in their respective city. InCleveland, theHealthLine, which is considered a standard for BRT in the United States, serves most of the city.Minneapolis has theRed Line, andLos Angeles has the F Line, which plans to upgrade to light rail.[citation needed]
Local bus systems are categorized as public transit, especially for large metropolitan transit networks and in medium or small cities across the U.S. that rely on a bus network. These networks rely on diesel engine buses usually with fare controls and run on public streets. A public transit network generally orders vehicles to its own specifications as to length and passenger capacity, seated and standing. Buses meet standards set forth in theADA andADA updates to accommodate riders using a wheelchair, and information systems for riders with vision or hearing impairments. Electric-powered buses are appearing in some transit systems in the 2020 decade, as transit operators shift away from diesel fuel and its air pollutants, to this newer technology.[25][26]
Some urban transit buses are built as articulated, longer vehicles to serve routes with high passenger demand. These buses bend midway, with an extra set of wheels.
Large metro areas in the US have bus networks with frequent scheduled service at a low fare, and in recent years in the 21st century, riders can learn the time of the next bus from software applications that work on a smart phone.New York City,Boston,Philadelphia,Chicago,Atlanta,Seattle, andLos Angeles County are a few of the places offering this type of service, with transfers between bus routes, or between bus and rail, to serve more trips.
Towns or smaller cities with a university campus may have excellent bus networks tailored to their market of riders.Ames, Iowa, for example, offers this sort of bus network with itsCyRide system.
In theChicago metropolitan area, there are two large transit bus networks. One is operated by theChicago Transit Authority in Chicago proper and the other network is operated by the regional agencyPACE, serving all the surrounding suburban towns and counties. Fares and transfers are coordinated in that region.
A subset of urban transit buses is the higher-fare, longer distance bus for people commuting to work in one or two US metropolitan areas. Those operate where no train service is in place to meet the demand, such as some routes betweenNew Jersey's suburbs andManhattan in New York City, although there may also be regularly scheduled bus routes. These buses may have more seating than typical buses, since the trip is longer. Providers of such service may call the bus a coach as a marketing term.[27]
Information on ferries as public transportation in the United States is available from the FTANational Transit Database and theNational Census of Ferry Operators, a bi-yearly census completed by theBureau of Transportation Statistics.[28]
According to the 2022 version of theNational Census of Ferry Operators, 91.6 million passengers were carried on ferries in the United States and its territories.
Information on transit ridership and usage in theUnited States is available from theNational Transit Database from theFederal Transit Administration.[29]
The number of miles traveled by vehicles in the United States fell by 3.6% in 2008, while the number of trips taken onmass transit increased by 4.0%. At least part of the drop in urban driving can be explained by the 4% increase in the use of public transportation.[30]
About one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live inNew York City and its suburbs.[31][32]
Most medium-sized cities have some form of local public transportation, usually a network of fixed bus routes. Larger cities often havemetro rail systems (also known asheavy rail in the U.S.) and/orlight rail systems for high-capacity passenger service within the urban area, andcommuter rail to serve the surrounding metropolitan area.
Information on the geographic extent of fixed-guideway and fixed-route transit services inUnited States, as gleaned from transit providers'General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) Schedule data, is available through the National Transit Map, a web map from theBureau of Transportation Statistics and theFederal Transit Administration.[33]
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American mass transit is funded by a combination of local, state, and federal agencies. At the federal level, theFederal Transit Administration (FTA) provides financial assistance and technical assistance to state governments and local transit providers. From FY 2005 to FY 2009, the funding scheme for the FTA was regulated by theSAFETEA-LU bill, which appropriated $286.4 billion in guaranteed funding.[34] The FTA awards grants through several programs, such as the New Starts program and Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program.
Historically, public transportation in the United States has been reliant on private investments. Congress first authorized money for public transport under theUrban Mass Transportation Act (UMTA) of 1964, with $150 million per year. Under the UMTA of 1970, this amount rose to $3.1 billion per year. Since then, ridership has risen from 6.6 billion in the mid-1970s to 10.2 billion today. None of the major transit systems in the US generate enough revenue to cover their operating expenses, but those with the highest percentages include theSan Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District with 71.6 percent and theWashington, DC metropolitan rail system with 62.1 percent.[11]
The most widely used source for public transport funds in the United States is generalsales tax. Whereas most countries usually don’t put motoring taxes to a specific use, there are instances in the United States where this revenue is earmarked to fund public transport. For example, bridge tolls on theGolden Gate Bridge in San Francisco are used to subsidize local bus and ferry Services. In contrast to other Western countries, public transport use is low and mostly by the poor, which makes it harder to raise additional funds. In response to reductions in Federal support for public transport, individual states and cities sometimes levy local taxes to maintain their transit systems.[35]
On June 26, 2008, the House passed the Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act (H.R. 6052),[36] which gives grants to mass transit authorities to lowerfares forcommuterspinched at the pump and expand transit services. The bill also: