America's Rail Systems by Ridership
This list of United States heavy rail, light rail/streetcar, commuter rail, and downtown people mover ridership statistics indicates that success or failure of rail transit systems may not be based off of traditional density and urban area population statistics.
List of United States Heavy Rail Transit Systems by Ridership
Chicago's 'L' heavy rail system
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
8,093,900 - New York City Subway (232 miles) -- New York City, NY
954,200 - Washington Metro, (106.3 miles) -- Washington, DC
983,500 - Chicago 'L' (102.8 miles) -- Chicago, IL
540,100 - MBTA Subway (38 miles) -- Boston, MA
410,800 - BART (104 miles) -- San Francisco, CA
296,000 - SEPTA (36.7 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
262,900 - PATH (13.8 miles) -- New York City, NY
227,300 - MARTA (47.6 miles) -- Atlanta, GA
153,700 - Metro Rail (17.4 miles) -- Los Angeles, CA
64,200 - Metrorail (24.4 miles) -- Miami, FL
47,700 - Baltimore Metro Subway (15.5 miles) -- Baltimore, MD
40,700 - Tren Urbano (10.7 miles) -- San Juan, PR
36,500 - PATCO Speedline (14.2 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
--,--- - RTA Rapid Transit (19 miles) -- Cleveland, OH
15,000 - Staten Island Railway (14 miles) -- New York City, NY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_rapid_transit_systems_by_ridership
List of United States Downtown People Movers by Ridership
JTA Skyway
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
28,700 - Miami Metromover (4.4 miles) -- Miami, FL
7,083 (2011) - Detroit People Mover (2.9 miles) -- Detroit, MI
5,100 - JTA Skyway (2.5 miles) -- Jacksonville, FL
https://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2012-q3-ridership-APTA.pdf
List of United States Commuter Rail Transit Systems by Ridership
South Florida's Tri-Rail commuter rail
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
324,300 - MTA Long Island Railroad (700 miles) -- New York City, NY
303,800 - Metra (495 miles) -- Chicago, IL
298,200 - MTA Metro-North Railroad (384 miles) -- New York City, NY
276,459 - New Jersey Transit Rail (951 miles) -- New York City, NY/Philadelphia, PA
133,200 - MBTA Commuter Rail (368 miles) -- Boston, MA
123,900 - SEPTA Regional Rail (289 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
48,400 - Caltrain (77 miles) -- San Francisco / San Jose, CA
43,700 - Metrolink (512 miles) -- Los Angeles, CA
36,100 - MARC Train (187 miles) -- Baltimore, MD / Washington, DC
19,200 - Virginia Railway Express (90 miles) -- Washington, DC
13,800 - Tri-Rail (72 miles) -- Miami, FL
12,400 - NICTD South Shore Line (90 miles) -- Chicago, IL
10,900 - Sounder Commuter Rail (80 miles) -- Seattle, WA
8,100 - Trinity Railway Express (34 miles) -- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
5,800 - UTA FrontRunner (88 miles) -- Salt Lake City, UT
5,800 - NCTD Coaster (41.1 miles) -- San Diego, CA
3,900 - New Mexico Rail Runner Express (97 miles) -- Albuquerque, NM
3,300 - Altamont Commuter Express (86 miles) -- San Jose, CA
2,500 - Northstar Line (40 miles) -- Minneapolis, MN
2,200 - Shore Line East (59 miles) -- New Haven, CT
1,700 - Capital MetroRail (32 miles) -- Austin, TX
1,700 - Westside Express Service (15 miles) -- Beaverton (Portland), OR
1,400 - A-Train (21 miles) -- Denton (Dallas/Fort Worth), TX
1,100 - Music City Star (32 miles) -- Nashville, TN
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_commuter_rail_systems_by_ridership
List of United States Light Rail Transit Systems by Ridership
Charlotte's LYNX light rail
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
231,700 - MBTA Green Line (28 miles) -- Boston, MA
200,300 - Los Angeles County Metro Rail (70.4 miles) -- Los Angeles, CA
173,500 - Muni Metro (45.6 miles) -- San Francisco, CA
141,000 - MAX light rail and Portland Streetcar (56.9 miles) -- Portland, OR
95,700 - San Diego Trolley (53.5 miles) -- San Diego, CA
94,900 - SEPTA Subway-Surface lines, Suburban Trolley Lines, and Girard Avenue Trolley (60 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
78,800 - DART (75.6 miles) -- Dallas, TX
63,600 - Denver RTD, The Ride Light Rail (35 miles) -- Denver, CO
56,900 - UTA TRAX (35.3 miles) -- Salt Lake City, UT
55,300 - MetroLink (46 miles) -- St. Louis, MO
46,000 - Sacramento Regional Transit District (36.9 miles) -- Sacramento, CA
42,000 - METRO Light Rail (20 miles) -- Phoenix, AZ
38,800 - METRORail (7.5 miles) -- Houston, TX
34,400 - Santa Clara VTA Light Rail (42.2 miles) -- San Jose, CA
34,200 - Hiawatha Line (12 miles) -- Minneapolis, MN
31,721 - Central Line and South Lake Union Streetcar (16.9 miles) -- Seattle, WA
28,400 - The T (26.2 miles) -- Pittsburgh, PA
28,300 - Baltimore Light Rail (30 miles) -- Baltimore, MD
23,000 - Buffalo Metro Rail (6.4 miles) -- Buffalo, NY
21,426 - Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (20.6 miles) -- Jersey City, NJ
15,900 - LYNX Rapid Transit Services (9.6 miles) -- Charlotte, NC
13,100 - RTA Streetcars (21.5 miles) -- New Orleans, LA
10,075 - Newark Light Rail (9.9 miles) -- Newark, NJ
8,900 - The Rapid Blue and Green Lines (15 miles) -- Cleveland, OH
8,400 - Sprinter (22 miles) -- Oceanside, CA
6,700 - Tide Light Rail (7.4 miles) -- Norfolk, VA
4,900 - Memphis RTA Trolley (6.7 miles) -- Memphis, TN
4,273 - River Line (34 miles) -- Trenton/Camden, NJ
3,168 - Tacoma Link (1.6 miles) -- Tacoma, WA
500 - TECO Line Streetcar (2.3 miles) -- Tampa, FL
340 - River Rail Streetcar (2.5 miles) -- Little Rock, AR
300 - Kenosha Transit (2 miles) -- Kenosha, WI
0 - Galveston Island Trolley (5.2 miles) -- Galveston, TX
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_light_rail_systems_by_ridership
source: https://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2012-q3-ridership-APTA.pdf
Article by Ennis Davis
Chicago's 'L' heavy rail system
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
8,093,900 - New York City Subway (232 miles) -- New York City, NY
954,200 - Washington Metro, (106.3 miles) -- Washington, DC
983,500 - Chicago 'L' (102.8 miles) -- Chicago, IL
540,100 - MBTA Subway (38 miles) -- Boston, MA
410,800 - BART (104 miles) -- San Francisco, CA
296,000 - SEPTA (36.7 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
262,900 - PATH (13.8 miles) -- New York City, NY
227,300 - MARTA (47.6 miles) -- Atlanta, GA
153,700 - Metro Rail (17.4 miles) -- Los Angeles, CA
64,200 - Metrorail (24.4 miles) -- Miami, FL
47,700 - Baltimore Metro Subway (15.5 miles) -- Baltimore, MD
40,700 - Tren Urbano (10.7 miles) -- San Juan, PR
36,500 - PATCO Speedline (14.2 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
--,--- - RTA Rapid Transit (19 miles) -- Cleveland, OH
15,000 - Staten Island Railway (14 miles) -- New York City, NY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_rapid_transit_systems_by_ridership
List of United States Downtown People Movers by Ridership
JTA Skyway
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
28,700 - Miami Metromover (4.4 miles) -- Miami, FL
7,083 (2011) - Detroit People Mover (2.9 miles) -- Detroit, MI
5,100 - JTA Skyway (2.5 miles) -- Jacksonville, FL
https://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2012-q3-ridership-APTA.pdf
List of United States Commuter Rail Transit Systems by Ridership
South Florida's Tri-Rail commuter rail
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
324,300 - MTA Long Island Railroad (700 miles) -- New York City, NY
303,800 - Metra (495 miles) -- Chicago, IL
298,200 - MTA Metro-North Railroad (384 miles) -- New York City, NY
276,459 - New Jersey Transit Rail (951 miles) -- New York City, NY/Philadelphia, PA
133,200 - MBTA Commuter Rail (368 miles) -- Boston, MA
123,900 - SEPTA Regional Rail (289 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
48,400 - Caltrain (77 miles) -- San Francisco / San Jose, CA
43,700 - Metrolink (512 miles) -- Los Angeles, CA
36,100 - MARC Train (187 miles) -- Baltimore, MD / Washington, DC
19,200 - Virginia Railway Express (90 miles) -- Washington, DC
13,800 - Tri-Rail (72 miles) -- Miami, FL
12,400 - NICTD South Shore Line (90 miles) -- Chicago, IL
10,900 - Sounder Commuter Rail (80 miles) -- Seattle, WA
8,100 - Trinity Railway Express (34 miles) -- Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
5,800 - UTA FrontRunner (88 miles) -- Salt Lake City, UT
5,800 - NCTD Coaster (41.1 miles) -- San Diego, CA
3,900 - New Mexico Rail Runner Express (97 miles) -- Albuquerque, NM
3,300 - Altamont Commuter Express (86 miles) -- San Jose, CA
2,500 - Northstar Line (40 miles) -- Minneapolis, MN
2,200 - Shore Line East (59 miles) -- New Haven, CT
1,700 - Capital MetroRail (32 miles) -- Austin, TX
1,700 - Westside Express Service (15 miles) -- Beaverton (Portland), OR
1,400 - A-Train (21 miles) -- Denton (Dallas/Fort Worth), TX
1,100 - Music City Star (32 miles) -- Nashville, TN
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_commuter_rail_systems_by_ridership
List of United States Light Rail Transit Systems by Ridership
Charlotte's LYNX light rail
daily ridership - transit system name (route length) -- largest city served
231,700 - MBTA Green Line (28 miles) -- Boston, MA
200,300 - Los Angeles County Metro Rail (70.4 miles) -- Los Angeles, CA
173,500 - Muni Metro (45.6 miles) -- San Francisco, CA
141,000 - MAX light rail and Portland Streetcar (56.9 miles) -- Portland, OR
95,700 - San Diego Trolley (53.5 miles) -- San Diego, CA
94,900 - SEPTA Subway-Surface lines, Suburban Trolley Lines, and Girard Avenue Trolley (60 miles) -- Philadelphia, PA
78,800 - DART (75.6 miles) -- Dallas, TX
63,600 - Denver RTD, The Ride Light Rail (35 miles) -- Denver, CO
56,900 - UTA TRAX (35.3 miles) -- Salt Lake City, UT
55,300 - MetroLink (46 miles) -- St. Louis, MO
46,000 - Sacramento Regional Transit District (36.9 miles) -- Sacramento, CA
42,000 - METRO Light Rail (20 miles) -- Phoenix, AZ
38,800 - METRORail (7.5 miles) -- Houston, TX
34,400 - Santa Clara VTA Light Rail (42.2 miles) -- San Jose, CA
34,200 - Hiawatha Line (12 miles) -- Minneapolis, MN
31,721 - Central Line and South Lake Union Streetcar (16.9 miles) -- Seattle, WA
28,400 - The T (26.2 miles) -- Pittsburgh, PA
28,300 - Baltimore Light Rail (30 miles) -- Baltimore, MD
23,000 - Buffalo Metro Rail (6.4 miles) -- Buffalo, NY
21,426 - Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (20.6 miles) -- Jersey City, NJ
15,900 - LYNX Rapid Transit Services (9.6 miles) -- Charlotte, NC
13,100 - RTA Streetcars (21.5 miles) -- New Orleans, LA
10,075 - Newark Light Rail (9.9 miles) -- Newark, NJ
8,900 - The Rapid Blue and Green Lines (15 miles) -- Cleveland, OH
8,400 - Sprinter (22 miles) -- Oceanside, CA
6,700 - Tide Light Rail (7.4 miles) -- Norfolk, VA
4,900 - Memphis RTA Trolley (6.7 miles) -- Memphis, TN
4,273 - River Line (34 miles) -- Trenton/Camden, NJ
3,168 - Tacoma Link (1.6 miles) -- Tacoma, WA
500 - TECO Line Streetcar (2.3 miles) -- Tampa, FL
340 - River Rail Streetcar (2.5 miles) -- Little Rock, AR
300 - Kenosha Transit (2 miles) -- Kenosha, WI
0 - Galveston Island Trolley (5.2 miles) -- Galveston, TX
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_light_rail_systems_by_ridership
source: https://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2012-q3-ridership-APTA.pdf
Article by Ennis Davis