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

Denton County Transportation Authority

Lewisville, TX · NTD ID 60101 · 2024 report year

Annual trips3.2 million #151 in the US
Operating expense$42.5 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$13.29 all modes combined
Farebox recovery16.5% fares ÷ operating cost

Denton County Transportation Authority carries 3.2 million passenger trips a year across four modes — bus, demand response, hybrid rail and vanpool — making it the 151st-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Lewisville, TX.

It spends $42.5 million a year running that service, or $13.29 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $4.52 per rider — 67% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership is 9% above its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 9% on 2023. Fares cover 17% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#183 of 1,162 nationally 1,785,296 $8.1 million $4.52 -67% 49% 25
Demand Response#24 of 1,920 nationally 900,288 $16.7 million $18.54 -51% 9% 79
Hybrid Rail#5 of 6 nationally 261,518 $16.6 million $63.41 +54% 2% 8
Vanpool#27 of 113 nationally 251,799 $1.2 million $4.69 -34% 102% 103

Ridership, 2015–2024

3.2 million 1.1 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 3,198,901 $42.5 million $13.29
2023 2,929,900 $39.5 million $13.47
2022 2,201,683 $43.4 million $19.70
2021 1,064,376 $33.4 million $31.41
2020 1,726,272 $37.2 million $21.57
2019 2,939,309 $40.6 million $13.82
2018 2,981,039 $36.8 million $12.33
2017 3,110,314 $36.1 million $11.61
2016 3,140,514 $33.8 million $10.76
2015 3,090,784 $33.3 million $10.77

Where Denton County Transportation Authority ranks

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 Denton County Transportation Authority →

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.