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City of Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Springs, CO · NTD ID 80186 · 2024 report year

Annual trips1.2 million #280 in the US
Operating expense$6.6 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$5.61 all modes combined
Farebox recovery2.5% fares ÷ operating cost

City of Steamboat Springs carries 1.2 million passenger trips a year across three modes — bus, commuter bus and demand response — making it the 280th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Steamboat Springs, CO.

It spends $6.6 million a year running that service, or $5.61 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $5.03 per rider — 64% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership is 2% above its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and down 2% on 2023. Fares cover 2% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#248 of 1,162 nationally 1,094,682 $5.5 million $5.03 -64% — 19
Commuter Bus#73 of 153 nationally 42,466 $551,282 $12.98 -55% 30% 3
Demand Response#809 of 1,920 nationally 30,665 $488,871 $15.94 -58% — 4

Ridership, 2015–2024

1.2 million 610,680 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 1,167,813 $6.6 million $5.61
2023 1,187,752 $5.5 million $4.65
2022 934,937 $5.0 million $5.36
2021 610,680 $4.3 million $7.07
2020 769,993 $4.6 million $5.96
2019 1,145,302 $4.4 million $3.82
2018 1,093,637 $4.5 million $4.10
2017 1,167,457 $4.6 million $3.91
2016 1,154,760 $4.5 million $3.88
2015 1,069,606 $4.2 million $3.95

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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.