Metro Transit Ridership
Data updated Apr. 1 with ridership through February
Skip to annual system ridership from 2012-2022
What is the measure?
Ridership on individual trips is measured in multiple ways: fares paid at the farebox, taps of Go-To Cards to readers on board or at stations, and automatic passenger counters on METRO lines. These trip data are aggregated to route, mode, and system level, and reported regularly to the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database.
Here we share one way of counting rides: average weekday ridership. This is the average number of boardings by day, in which weekday (not holiday or reduced) Metro Transit service* was operated, for a given month.
What does this measure tell us?
In general, a boarding is a successful meeting of supply of Metro Transit service with demand for people to make a trip. Ridership can be affected by the amount of service Metro Transit provides, but also the demand that exists for taking trips in general, and for using transit in particular for those trips. During the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in March 2020, Metro Transit service was reduced slightly, but general travel demand plummeted. Ridership declined significantly as a result, but some modes and routes, notably arterial BRT lines, were more resilient because travel demand remained more constant.
The metric of average weekday trips tells us about the use of Metro Transit services during the busy times of regular travel, whether to and from work or school, or for trips like grocery shopping, medical appointments, and other everyday errands. The different scales of ridership by mode or line can help us understand how many people are using different parts of the system. Perhaps most important, the trend in the average over time can tell us about how regular travel is increasing or decreasing.
Orange Line service began in December2021.
* Includes ridership on routes planned and operated or contracted by Metro Transit, as well as Maple Grove Transit routes operated by Metro Transit. Metro Transit ridership does not include rides from other regional providers (U of M, MVTA, SouthWest Transit, Plymouth Metrolink).
Safety & security
How statistics are tracked
The National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is used by law enforcement agencies across the U.S. to collect crime and incident data. The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD), along with all Minnesota law enforcement agencies, submit data to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in a proscribed format that is consistent, reliable, and incorporates checks and balances to ensure accuracy. The BCA then provides the data to the FBI, who compile and publish the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) for nationwide comparison.
Metro Transit serves eight counties and numerous cities, all of whom have their own law enforcement agencies. As such, MTPD is considered the secondary police agency in these communities; therefore, state statue provides first right of refusal to the city or county police department, even if the crime occurred on Metro Transit property. In these situations, MTPD may assist on the investigation, but the crime data is only reported by the main investigative agency to avoid duplication.
This chart highlights Group A crimes investigated by Metro Transit Police. Vandalism is the most prevalent safety and security issue on the Metro Transit system, followed by simple assault. The “other” category refers to crimes including fraud, gambling, theft, sex offenses, stolen property, and weapons offenses, among others.