Wire Policy: Sound Transit delays West Seattle Link extension three years
Sunday, September 27, 2026 · Transit411 Intelligence The Wire — free newsletter
TRANSIT411

California Vanpool Authority

Visalia, CA · NTD ID 90230 · 2024 report year

Annual trips3.5 million #146 in the US
Operating expense$13.7 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$3.94 all modes combined
Farebox recovery93.3% fares ÷ operating cost

California Vanpool Authority carries 3.5 million passenger trips a year on vanpool service — making it the 146th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Visalia, CA.

It spends $13.7 million a year running that service, or $3.94 per trip. Its vanpool service, the largest of its modes, costs $3.94 per rider — 44% below the $7.08 median for the 113 US agencies reporting vanpool.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership is 1% above its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and down 3% on 2023. Fares cover 93% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Vanpool#1 of 113 nationally 3,466,955 $13.7 million $3.94 -44% 93% 736

Ridership, 2015–2024

3.7 million 2.2 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 3,466,955 $13.7 million $3.94
2023 3,569,288 $13.6 million $3.82
2022 3,703,926 $14.5 million $3.92
2021 3,403,134 $11.8 million $3.46
2020 3,598,900 $13.0 million $3.61
2019 3,434,148 $13.0 million $3.80
2018 3,173,836 $10.9 million $3.44
2017 2,601,036 $12.4 million $4.76
2016 2,462,851 $11.4 million $4.65
2015 2,154,084 $10.2 million $4.73

Ask a different question

These are the headline figures. Ask NTD answers the rest in plain English — by mode, by year, against any other agency.

Ask NTD about California Vanpool Authority →

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.