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Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority

Haverhill, MA · NTD ID 10013 · 2024 report year

Annual trips3.0 million #158 in the US
Operating expense$25.1 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$8.50 all modes combined
Farebox recovery— fares ÷ operating cost

Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority carries 3.0 million passenger trips a year across two modes — bus and demand response — making it the 158th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Haverhill, MA.

It spends $25.1 million a year running that service, or $8.50 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $7.27 per rider — 48% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership is 40% above its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 56% on 2023.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#128 of 1,162 nationally 2,848,698 $20.7 million $7.27 -48% — 46
Demand Response#263 of 1,920 nationally 102,222 $4.4 million $42.78 +12% — 38

Ridership, 2015–2024

3.0 million 1.0 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 2,950,920 $25.1 million $8.50
2023 1,886,152 $24.2 million $12.82
2022 1,264,151 $22.0 million $17.42
2021 1,041,243 $20.6 million $19.81
2020 1,611,600 $21.6 million $13.39
2019 2,105,654 $22.0 million $10.47
2018 2,194,507 $21.2 million $9.68
2017 2,297,104 $21.3 million $9.28
2016 2,419,958 $22.2 million $9.16
2015 2,310,284 $21.3 million $9.22

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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.