Long Beach Transit
Long Beach, CA · NTD ID 90023 · 2024 report year
Long Beach Transit carries 18.5 million passenger trips a year across two modes — bus and demand response — making it the 44th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Long Beach, CA.
It spends $123 million a year running that service, or $6.66 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $6.59 per rider — 52% 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 up 10% on 2023. Fares cover 8% of operating cost.
Service by mode, 2024
| Mode | Annual trips | Operating expense | Cost per rider | vs national median | Farebox | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus#34 of 1,162 nationally | 18,481,114 | $122 million | $6.59 | -52% | 8% | 187 |
| Demand Response#991 of 1,920 nationally | 22,234 | $1.4 million | $62.84 | +65% | 3% | 9 |
Ridership, 2015–2024
| Year | Annual trips | Operating expense (2024 $) | Cost per rider (2024 $) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 18,503,348 | $123 million | $6.66 |
| 2023 | 16,803,005 | $116 million | $6.88 |
| 2022 | 17,409,861 | $110 million | $6.30 |
| 2021 | 14,113,352 | $109 million | $7.72 |
| 2020 | 18,388,096 | $112 million | $6.09 |
| 2019 | 23,248,158 | $115 million | $4.94 |
| 2018 | 23,820,716 | $109 million | $4.58 |
| 2017 | 25,263,321 | $106 million | $4.21 |
| 2016 | 26,323,460 | $105 million | $4.00 |
| 2015 | 28,117,340 | $110 million | $3.91 |
Where Long Beach Transit ranks
- Cheapest Bus Systems by Cost per Rider #19 of 40
- Highest-Ridership Bus Agencies #34 of 40
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These are the headline figures. Ask NTD answers the rest in plain English — by mode, by year, against any other agency.
Ask NTD about Long Beach 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.