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

Chelan Douglas PTBA

Wenatchee, WA · NTD ID 00043 · 2024 report year

Annual trips1.4 million #261 in the US
Operating expense$27.1 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$19.98 all modes combined
Farebox recovery0.1% fares ÷ operating cost

Chelan Douglas PTBA carries 1.4 million passenger trips a year across three modes — bus, demand response and vanpool — making it the 261st-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Wenatchee, WA.

It spends $27.1 million a year running that service, or $19.98 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $16.03 per rider — 16% above the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership is 31% above its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 22% on 2023. Fares cover 0% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#233 of 1,162 nationally 1,233,837 $19.8 million $16.03 +16% — 36
Demand Response#249 of 1,920 nationally 106,635 $6.8 million $63.54 +67% — 30
Vanpool#87 of 113 nationally 17,530 $578,153 $32.98 +366% 5% 16

Ridership, 2015–2024

1.4 million 745,336 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 1,358,002 $27.1 million $19.98
2023 1,113,038 $24.9 million $22.41
2022 949,524 $22.3 million $23.51
2021 823,874 $21.2 million $25.76
2020 745,336 $20.1 million $26.99
2019 1,036,007 $18.4 million $17.80
2018 1,001,983 $16.9 million $16.85
2017 1,006,590 $16.1 million $16.01
2016 1,034,597 $16.4 million $15.85
2015 1,063,333 $15.0 million $14.10

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 Chelan Douglas PTBA →

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.