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

Foothill Transit

West Covina, CA · NTD ID 90146 · 2024 report year

Annual trips9.2 million #73 in the US
Operating expense$135 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$14.74 all modes combined
Farebox recovery6.7% fares ÷ operating cost

Foothill Transit carries 9.2 million passenger trips a year on bus service — making it the 73rd-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in West Covina, CA.

It spends $135 million a year running that service, or $14.74 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $14.74 per rider — 6% above the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 24% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 17% on 2023. Fares cover 7% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#57 of 1,162 nationally 9,164,170 $135 million $14.74 +6% 7% 303

Ridership, 2015–2024

14.6 million 6.1 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 9,164,170 $135 million $14.74
2023 7,864,856 $119 million $15.19
2022 6,852,419 $112 million $16.30
2021 6,099,989 $118 million $19.35
2020 9,862,939 $119 million $12.04
2019 12,053,307 $118 million $9.77
2018 12,543,650 $116 million $9.28
2017 13,561,124 $111 million $8.21
2016 13,584,135 $99.7 million $7.34
2015 14,596,534 $94.4 million $6.47

Where Foothill Transit 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 Foothill Transit →

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.