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Cobb County

Marietta, GA · NTD ID 40078 · 2024 report year

Annual trips1.1 million #289 in the US
Operating expense$35.5 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$32.41 all modes combined
Farebox recovery4.4% fares ÷ operating cost

Cobb County carries 1.1 million passenger trips a year across three modes — bus, demand response and commuter bus — making it the 289th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Marietta, GA.

It spends $35.5 million a year running that service, or $32.41 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $29.02 per rider — 109% above the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 56% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 28% on 2023. Fares cover 4% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#255 of 1,162 nationally 1,019,210 $29.6 million $29.02 +109% 5% 53
Demand Response#512 of 1,920 nationally 55,329 $4.9 million $88.19 +132% 1% 14
Commuter Bus#100 of 153 nationally 21,486 $1.1 million $49.70 +73% 2% 9

Ridership, 2015–2024

3.3 million 854,074 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 1,096,025 $35.5 million $32.41
2023 854,074 $30.3 million $35.48
2022 993,547 $28.2 million $28.42
2021 1,334,845 $29.6 million $22.16
2020 1,779,703 $29.5 million $16.56
2019 2,485,506 $26.7 million $10.74
2018 2,543,584 $27.4 million $10.78
2017 2,735,849 $28.4 million $10.39
2016 2,921,517 $25.1 million $8.58
2015 3,327,494 $24.4 million $7.34

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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.