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Spokane Transit Authority

Spokane, WA · NTD ID 00002 · 2024 report year

Annual trips10.7 million #64 in the US
Operating expense$119 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$11.12 all modes combined
Farebox recovery6.5% fares ÷ operating cost

Spokane Transit Authority carries 10.7 million passenger trips a year across three modes — bus, demand response and vanpool — making it the 64th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Spokane, WA.

It spends $119 million a year running that service, or $11.12 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $9.34 per rider — 33% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership is 1% above its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 13% on 2023. Fares cover 6% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#51 of 1,162 nationally 10,166,876 $94.9 million $9.34 -33% 7% 135
Demand Response#58 of 1,920 nationally 390,956 $22.7 million $58.08 +53% 2% 92
Vanpool#42 of 113 nationally 103,270 $947,664 $9.18 +30% 32% 89

Ridership, 2015–2024

11.5 million 5.6 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 10,661,102 $119 million $11.12
2023 9,403,739 $112 million $11.88
2022 6,995,911 $101 million $14.40
2021 5,560,634 $79.3 million $14.27
2020 6,114,361 $86.9 million $14.22
2019 10,568,157 $86.4 million $8.17
2018 10,702,358 $84.1 million $7.86
2017 10,920,193 $81.6 million $7.47
2016 10,922,108 $77.6 million $7.10
2015 11,498,777 $80.0 million $6.95

Where Spokane 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.