Best Farebox Recovery Among Commuter Rail Systems
US commuter rail operators ranked by the share of operating cost covered by fares. · 2024 report year
This table ranks 24 US commuter rail operators by farebox recovery for 2024, limited to systems carrying at least 500,000 trips a year so that a very small operator cannot top the list on a handful of rides. 27 agencies reported commuter rail service in total, carrying 364 million trips between them.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation leads at 88%.
| # | Agency | Location | Farebox recovery | Annual trips | Operating expense | Farebox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania Department of Transportation | Harrisburg, PA | 88.2% | 634,804 | $29.2 million | 88% |
| 2 | Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority | Portland, ME | 48.7% | 598,426 | $26.8 million | 49% |
| 3 | Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, dba: MTA Metro-North Railroad | New York, NY | 36.7% | 74,064,075 | $1.71 billion | 37% |
| 4 | New Jersey Transit Corporation | Newark, NJ | 29.7% | 60,447,079 | $1.38 billion | 30% |
| 5 | MTA Long Island Rail Road | New York, NY | 29.4% | 97,220,517 | $2.21 billion | 29% |
| 6 | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority | Philadelphia, PA | 26.0% | 22,480,414 | $331 million | 26% |
| 7 | Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board | San Carlos, CA | 24.3% | 7,405,005 | $193 million | 24% |
| 8 | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | Boston, MA | 23.4% | 29,186,010 | $570 million | 23% |
| 9 | Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District | Chesterton, IN | 17.8% | 1,771,513 | $65.0 million | 18% |
| 10 | Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation | Chicago, IL | 16.6% | 35,051,943 | $989 million | 17% |
| 11 | Virginia Railway Express | Woodbridge, VA | 14.8% | 1,589,693 | $106 million | 15% |
| 12 | Altamont Corridor Express | Stockton, CA | 14.1% | 681,351 | $38.7 million | 14% |
| 13 | Denver Regional Transportation District | Denver, CO | 12.6% | 8,331,378 | $137 million | 13% |
| 14 | Maryland Transit Administration | Baltimore, MD | 12.3% | 3,836,552 | $189 million | 12% |
| 15 | South Florida Regional Transportation Authority | Pompano Beach, FL | 11.6% | 4,299,794 | $126 million | 12% |
| 16 | Southern California Regional Rail Authority | Los Angeles, CA | 11.6% | 4,321,271 | $309 million | 12% |
| 17 | North County Transit District | Oceanside, CA | 9.1% | 852,993 | $37.9 million | 9% |
| 18 | Utah Transit Authority | Salt Lake City, UT | 8.8% | 4,128,460 | $53.6 million | 9% |
| 19 | Dallas Area Rapid Transit | Dallas, TX | 7.9% | 1,270,112 | $47.5 million | 8% |
| 20 | Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority | Seattle, WA | 7.0% | 1,916,429 | $91.6 million | 7% |
| 21 | Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District | Petaluma, CA | 6.2% | 850,270 | $35.6 million | 6% |
| 22 | Fort Worth Transportation Authority | Fort Worth, TX | 4.4% | 779,769 | $38.3 million | 4% |
| 23 | Central Florida Commuter Rail | Tallahassee, FL | 2.8% | 1,136,319 | $76.7 million | 3% |
| 24 | Rio Metro Regional Transit District | Albuquerque, NM | 2.5% | 593,723 | $48.9 million | 2% |
Other rankings
- Cheapest Heavy Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 16 systems
- Most Expensive Heavy Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 16 systems
- Highest-Ridership Heavy Rail Systems 16 systems
- Best Farebox Recovery Among Heavy Rail Systems 16 systems
- Cheapest Light Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 22 systems
- Most Expensive Light Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 22 systems
- Highest-Ridership Light Rail Systems 22 systems
- Cheapest Commuter Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 24 systems
- Most Expensive Commuter Rail Systems by Cost per Rider 24 systems
- Highest-Ridership Commuter Rail Systems 27 systems
- Cheapest Bus Systems by Cost per Rider 40 systems
- Most Expensive Bus Systems by Cost per Rider 40 systems
- Highest-Ridership Bus Agencies 40 systems
- Best Farebox Recovery Among Large Bus Systems 40 systems
- Highest-Ridership Bus Rapid Transit Systems 20 systems
- Highest-Ridership Streetcar Systems 25 systems
- Highest-Ridership Ferry Systems 39 systems
- Most Expensive Demand-Response (Paratransit) Services by Cost per Rider 40 systems
- Highest-Ridership Demand-Response (Paratransit) Services 40 systems
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Open this in Ask NTD →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. This table is limited to systems carrying at least 500,000 trips a year.