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Connecticut Department of Transportation - CTTRANSIT - Hartford Division

Hartford, CT · NTD ID 10048 · 2024 report year

Annual trips12.7 million #59 in the US
Operating expense$107 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$8.49 all modes combined
Farebox recovery11.3% fares ÷ operating cost

Connecticut Department of Transportation - CTTRANSIT - Hartford Division carries 12.7 million passenger trips a year across two modes — bus and bus rapid transit — making it the 59th-busiest transit operator in the United States, and the largest in Connecticut. It is based in Hartford, CT.

It spends $107 million a year running that service, or $8.49 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $8.71 per rider — 37% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 20% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and down 16% on 2023. Fares cover 11% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#48 of 1,162 nationally 11,433,409 $99.6 million $8.71 -37% 11% 204
Bus Rapid Transit#10 of 20 nationally 1,224,730 $7.8 million $6.39 +1% 11% 9

Ridership, 2015–2024

16.2 million 9.6 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 12,658,139 $107 million $8.49
2023 15,128,480 $123 million $8.14
2022 10,327,809 $145 million $14.07
2021 9,605,901 $121 million $12.61
2020 13,824,376 $128 million $9.24
2019 15,797,582 $123 million $7.78
2018 16,206,841 $121 million $7.49
2017 15,431,157 $121 million $7.87
2016 15,976,850 $120 million $7.52
2015 14,868,818 $98.4 million $6.61

Where Connecticut Department of Transportation - CTTRANSIT - Hartford Division 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.