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Missoula Urban Transportation District

Missoula, MT · NTD ID 80009 · 2024 report year

Annual trips1.3 million #272 in the US
Operating expense$14.1 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$10.87 all modes combined
Farebox recovery— fares ÷ operating cost

Missoula Urban Transportation District carries 1.3 million passenger trips a year across two modes — bus and demand response — making it the 272nd-busiest transit operator in the United States, and the largest in Montana. It is based in Missoula, MT.

It spends $14.1 million a year running that service, or $10.87 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $8.61 per rider — 38% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 19% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 12% on 2023.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#234 of 1,162 nationally 1,221,669 $10.5 million $8.61 -38% — 22
Demand Response#368 of 1,920 nationally 77,055 $3.6 million $46.72 +23% — 15

Ridership, 2015–2024

1.6 million 798,241 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 1,298,724 $14.1 million $10.87
2023 1,155,032 $12.4 million $10.73
2022 874,250 $10.3 million $11.77
2021 798,241 $8.6 million $10.73
2020 1,263,829 $8.3 million $6.57
2019 1,598,692 $8.2 million $5.11
2018 1,602,344 $7.8 million $4.90
2017 1,588,646 $7.5 million $4.73
2016 1,573,086 $7.3 million $4.63
2015 1,095,592 $6.7 million $6.11

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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.