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Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission

Woodbridge, VA · NTD ID 30070 · 2024 report year

Annual trips2.6 million #178 in the US
Operating expense$54.3 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$21.01 all modes combined
Farebox recovery22.9% fares ÷ operating cost

Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission carries 2.6 million passenger trips a year across four modes — bus, commuter bus, vanpool and demand response — making it the 178th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Woodbridge, VA.

It spends $54.3 million a year running that service, or $21.01 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $23.38 per rider — 69% above the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 32% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 20% on 2023. Fares cover 23% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#252 of 1,162 nationally 1,033,949 $24.2 million $23.38 +69% — 32
Commuter Bus#9 of 153 nationally 916,222 $22.9 million $24.98 -13% 25% 78
Vanpool#9 of 113 nationally 613,518 $4.5 million $7.29 +3% 151% 329
Demand Response#989 of 1,920 nationally 22,303 $2.8 million $125.37 +229% — 11

Ridership, 2015–2024

4.1 million 1.2 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 2,585,992 $54.3 million $21.01
2023 2,158,231 $51.3 million $23.78
2022 1,746,624 $47.4 million $27.13
2021 1,150,667 $47.3 million $41.10
2020 2,983,775 $48.2 million $16.15
2019 3,813,055 $49.0 million $12.85
2018 3,765,145 $47.9 million $12.74
2017 3,862,646 $46.2 million $11.96
2016 3,983,696 $47.9 million $12.02
2015 4,107,151 $47.5 million $11.57

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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.