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Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority

Flagstaff, AZ · NTD ID 90219 · 2024 report year

Annual trips1.7 million #226 in the US
Operating expense$11.1 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$6.65 all modes combined
Farebox recovery12.8% fares ÷ operating cost

Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority carries 1.7 million passenger trips a year across three modes — bus, vanpool and demand response — making it the 226th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Flagstaff, AZ.

It spends $11.1 million a year running that service, or $6.65 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $6.17 per rider — 55% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 35% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 4% on 2023. Fares cover 13% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#192 of 1,162 nationally 1,630,830 $10.1 million $6.17 -55% 12% 18
Vanpool#85 of 113 nationally 18,310 $97,291 $5.31 -25% 145% 11
Demand Response#1297 of 1,920 nationally 12,210 $897,615 $73.51 +93% 3% 4

Ridership, 2015–2024

2.6 million 939,662 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 1,661,350 $11.1 million $6.65
2023 1,596,302 $11.2 million $7.03
2022 1,318,916 $10.5 million $7.98
2021 939,662 $10.1 million $10.75
2020 2,122,747 $9.9 million $4.64
2019 2,570,838 $10.6 million $4.12
2018 2,471,301 $9.7 million $3.93
2017 2,110,866 $9.4 million $4.45
2016 1,953,547 $8.8 million $4.52
2015 1,902,973 $8.9 million $4.68

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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.