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Rock Region Metropolitan Transit Authority

North Little Rock, AR · NTD ID 60033 · 2024 report year

Annual trips2.1 million #203 in the US
Operating expense$22.1 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$10.68 all modes combined
Farebox recovery6.9% fares ÷ operating cost

Rock Region Metropolitan Transit Authority carries 2.1 million passenger trips a year across four modes — bus, demand response, streetcar and vanpool — making it the 203rd-busiest transit operator in the United States, and the largest in Arkansas. It is based in North Little Rock, AR.

It spends $22.1 million a year running that service, or $10.68 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $9.11 per rider — 34% 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 2% on 2023. Fares cover 7% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#186 of 1,162 nationally 1,746,467 $15.9 million $9.11 -34% 8% 34
Demand Response#100 of 1,920 nationally 242,702 $4.9 million $20.17 -47% 4% 31
Streetcar#22 of 25 nationally 66,442 $1.1 million $16.66 +67% — 2
Vanpool#88 of 113 nationally 16,759 $219,947 $13.12 +85% 33% 10

Ridership, 2015–2024

2.7 million 1.4 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 2,072,370 $22.1 million $10.68
2023 2,037,018 $21.9 million $10.77
2022 1,750,545 $21.6 million $12.31
2021 1,368,839 $23.4 million $17.11
2020 1,565,366 $24.5 million $15.64
2019 2,564,760 $23.1 million $8.99
2018 2,351,440 $21.5 million $9.16
2017 2,544,065 $21.3 million $8.36
2016 2,651,707 $21.7 million $8.20
2015 2,743,365 $22.3 million $8.13

Where Rock Region Metropolitan Transit Authority ranks

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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.