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Board of County Commissioners, Palm Beach County

West Palm Beach, FL · NTD ID 40037 · 2024 report year

Annual trips9.6 million #69 in the US
Operating expense$140 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$14.52 all modes combined
Farebox recovery9.2% fares ÷ operating cost

Board of County Commissioners, Palm Beach County carries 9.6 million passenger trips a year across two modes — bus and demand response — making it the 69th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in West Palm Beach, FL.

It spends $140 million a year running that service, or $14.52 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $9.14 per rider — 34% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 5% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 14% on 2023. Fares cover 9% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#64 of 1,162 nationally 8,587,166 $78.5 million $9.14 -34% 13% 118
Demand Response#18 of 1,920 nationally 1,024,336 $61.0 million $59.60 +57% 5% 278

Ridership, 2015–2024

11.6 million 6.6 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 9,611,502 $140 million $14.52
2023 8,468,040 $131 million $15.52
2022 7,154,568 $118 million $16.47
2021 6,616,122 $126 million $18.97
2020 8,414,322 $124 million $14.72
2019 10,102,791 $119 million $11.81
2018 10,113,027 $117 million $11.59
2017 9,775,152 $117 million $11.93
2016 10,581,570 $116 million $10.95
2015 11,644,819 $115 million $9.84

Where Board of County Commissioners, Palm Beach County ranks

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Source & method. Figures are from the Federal Transit Administration's National Transit Database (NTD) annual reporting for 2024, the most recent published report year. Cost per rider is operating expense divided by unlinked passenger trips. Farebox recovery is fare revenue divided by operating expense. Ten-year trends are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; single-year figures are as reported. Agencies self-report to the NTD, and reporting practice varies, so figures are best read as comparable in magnitude rather than to the cent.