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Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority

Oklahoma City, OK · NTD ID 60017 · 2024 report year

Annual trips3.2 million #148 in the US
Operating expense$50.3 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$15.52 all modes combined
Farebox recovery4.5% fares ÷ operating cost

Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority carries 3.2 million passenger trips a year across six modes — bus, bus rapid transit, streetcar, demand response, vanpool and ferryboat — making it the 148th-busiest transit operator in the United States, and the largest in Oklahoma. It is based in Oklahoma City, OK.

It spends $50.3 million a year running that service, or $15.52 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $12.08 per rider — 13% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership is 4% above its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 10% on 2023. Fares cover 4% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#136 of 1,162 nationally 2,716,793 $32.8 million $12.08 -13% 6% 50
Bus Rapid Transit#19 of 20 nationally 238,663 $4.5 million $18.93 +199% 0% 7
Streetcar#20 of 25 nationally 234,594 $7.5 million $31.99 +222% 1% 4
Demand Response#592 of 1,920 nationally 46,755 $4.5 million $96.09 +153% 3% 17
Vanpool#104 of 113 nationally 5,888 $26,839 $4.56 -36% 85% 3
Ferryboat#39 of 39 nationally 2,286 $976,647 $427.23 +2100% 1% 1

Ridership, 2015–2024

3.3 million 2.1 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 3,244,979 $50.3 million $15.52
2023 2,950,016 $46.0 million $15.59
2022 2,512,635 $36.6 million $14.55
2021 2,136,274 $38.1 million $17.83
2020 3,021,932 $39.5 million $13.06
2019 3,122,965 $38.2 million $12.23
2018 3,031,321 $30.9 million $10.19
2017 3,205,600 $31.7 million $9.89
2016 3,265,299 $33.4 million $10.22
2015 3,166,452 $32.6 million $10.31

Where Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority 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.