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Williamsburg Area Transit Authority

Williamsburg, VA · NTD ID 30076 · 2024 report year

Annual trips1.4 million #250 in the US
Operating expense$7.7 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$5.42 all modes combined
Farebox recovery22.2% fares ÷ operating cost

Williamsburg Area Transit Authority carries 1.4 million passenger trips a year across two modes — bus and demand response — making it the 250th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Williamsburg, VA.

It spends $7.7 million a year running that service, or $5.42 per trip. Its bus service, the largest of its modes, costs $4.70 per rider — 66% below the $13.86 median for the 1,162 US agencies reporting bus.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 33% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 92% on 2023. Fares cover 22% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Bus#212 of 1,162 nationally 1,407,288 $6.6 million $4.70 -66% 25% 17
Demand Response#1165 of 1,920 nationally 16,198 $1.1 million $68.30 +79% 4% 6

Ridership, 2015–2024

2.6 million 610,291 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 1,423,486 $7.7 million $5.42
2023 740,818 $6.6 million $8.87
2022 687,407 $6.1 million $8.94
2021 610,291 $6.0 million $9.84
2020 857,349 $6.5 million $7.59
2019 2,119,442 $8.7 million $4.11
2018 2,195,115 $9.1 million $4.13
2017 2,474,205 $9.0 million $3.63
2016 2,555,477 $8.6 million $3.35
2015 2,517,115 $9.0 million $3.56

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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.