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Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District

San Francisco, CA · NTD ID 90016 · 2024 report year

Annual trips2.9 million #163 in the US
Operating expense$138 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$48.17 all modes combined
Farebox recovery16.4% fares ÷ operating cost

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District carries 2.9 million passenger trips a year across three modes — bus, ferryboat and demand response — making it the 163rd-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in San Francisco, CA.

It spends $138 million a year running that service, or $48.17 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $65.34 per rider — 371% above the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 49% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 16% on 2023. Fares cover 16% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#209 of 1,162 nationally 1,432,232 $93.6 million $65.34 +371% 10% 55
Ferryboat#8 of 39 nationally 1,421,356 $42.6 million $29.97 +54% 31% 5
Demand Response#1324 of 1,920 nationally 11,571 $1.8 million $159.40 +319% 4% 13

Ridership, 2015–2024

6.2 million 751,912 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 2,865,159 $138 million $48.17
2023 2,476,565 $123 million $49.73
2022 1,745,434 $99.7 million $57.12
2021 751,912 $98.7 million $131.23
2020 4,018,487 $138 million $34.44
2019 5,615,970 $140 million $24.97
2018 5,774,981 $132 million $22.89
2017 5,698,961 $132 million $23.10
2016 6,083,797 $127 million $20.86
2015 6,162,868 $123 million $19.94

Where Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District 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.