M-1 Rail
Detroit, MI · NTD ID 50213 · 2024 report year
M-1 Rail carries 1.1 million passenger trips a year on streetcar service — making it the 285th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Detroit, MI.
It spends $11.3 million a year running that service, or $9.85 per trip. Its streetcar service, the largest of its modes, costs $9.85 per rider — 1% below the $9.95 median for the 25 US agencies reporting streetcar.
Over the 8 years reported, ridership remains 2% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 22% on 2023.
Service by mode, 2024
| Mode | Annual trips | Operating expense | Cost per rider | vs national median | Farebox | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streetcar#10 of 25 nationally | 1,143,100 | $11.3 million | $9.85 | -1% | — | 4 |
Ridership, 2017–2024
| Year | Annual trips | Operating expense (2024 $) | Cost per rider (2024 $) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1,143,100 | $11.3 million | $9.85 |
| 2023 | 938,611 | $10.5 million | $11.17 |
| 2022 | 562,821 | $10.5 million | $18.59 |
| 2021 | 6,568 | $7.8 million | $1,186.27 |
| 2020 | 446,118 | $9.2 million | $20.69 |
| 2019 | 1,169,213 | $10.7 million | $9.18 |
| 2018 | 1,192,110 | $10.2 million | $8.56 |
| 2017 | 719,611 | $9.6 million | $13.35 |
Where M-1 Rail ranks
- Highest-Ridership Streetcar Systems #10 of 25
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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 M-1 Rail →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.