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Kitsap County Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority

Bremerton, WA · NTD ID 00020 · 2024 report year

Annual trips3.2 million #149 in the US
Operating expense$75.7 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$23.53 all modes combined
Farebox recovery10.0% fares ÷ operating cost

Kitsap County Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority carries 3.2 million passenger trips a year across four modes — bus, ferryboat, demand response and vanpool — making it the 149th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Bremerton, WA.

It spends $75.7 million a year running that service, or $23.53 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $20.67 per rider — 49% above the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 16% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 17% on 2023. Fares cover 10% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#191 of 1,162 nationally 1,655,636 $34.2 million $20.67 +49% 7% 97
Ferryboat#12 of 39 nationally 1,229,269 $20.9 million $16.98 -13% 23% 6
Demand Response#93 of 1,920 nationally 265,231 $19.6 million $73.76 +94% 1% 69
Vanpool#53 of 113 nationally 66,885 $1.0 million $15.50 +119% 24% 41

Ridership, 2015–2024

3.9 million 1.7 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 3,217,021 $75.7 million $23.53
2023 2,739,131 $70.2 million $25.62
2022 2,201,451 $68.1 million $30.94
2021 1,725,333 $63.0 million $36.50
2020 1,949,878 $62.5 million $32.07
2019 3,850,213 $59.3 million $15.41
2018 3,828,754 $54.0 million $14.11
2017 3,616,594 $49.6 million $13.72
2016 3,549,994 $44.9 million $12.64
2015 3,813,354 $42.7 million $11.19

Where Kitsap County Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority 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.