Fact #254: February 10, 2003
MSA Transit Commuter Trends, 1990-2000
The map below shows the change in total transit commuters in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs) from 1990 to 2000. Most MSAs/CMSAs in the Western states have experienced transit growth, while much of the Northeast has declining numbers of transit commuters.
Note: "Transit Commuter" includes bus, trolleybus, streetcar, trolleycar, subway, elevated rail, railroad, and ferryboat passengers, but not taxi passengers.
This map is one in a series of maps produced by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to analyze the state of transit commuting in America at the turn of the millennium. MTC is the transportation planning, funding, and coordinating body for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.
Source: Personal contact with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Original data source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Supporting Information
| Rank | MSA or CMSA | Change in Transit Commuting | Public Transport Commuters | Total Commuters | % Public Transp. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 20 | 1990–2000 | 1990 | 2000 | 1990 | 2000 | 1990 | 2000 | |
| 1 | Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton, WA CMSA | 28,197 | 90,583 | 118,780 | 1,499,734 | 1,776,224 | 6.0% | 6.7% |
| 2 | San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, CA CMSA | 27,049 | 294,811 | 321,860 | 3,200,833 | 3,432,157 | 9.2% | 9.4% |
| 3 | Boston, Worcester, Lawrence, MA CMSA | 24,010 | 233,843 | 257,853 | 2,868,989 | 3,012,008 | 8.2% | 8.6% |
| 4 | Portland, Salem, OR & WA CMSA | 22,132 | 40,573 | 62,705 | 861,141 | 1,105,133 | 4.7% | 5.7% |
| 5 | Las Vegas, NV & AZ MSA | 20,105 | 7,789 | 27,894 | 416,025 | 702,535 | 1.9% | 4.0% |
| 6 | Denver, Boulder-Greeley, CO CMSA | 17,066 | 40,622 | 57,688 | 1,026,847 | 1,346,025 | 4.0% | 4.3% |
| 7 | NY, Northern NJ, Long Island CMSA |
16,581 | 2,232,601 | 2,249,182 | 9,224,387 | 9,268,569 | 24.2% | 24.3% |
| 8 | Phoenix, Mesa, AZ MSA | 7,974 | 20,255 | 28,229 | 1,036,017 | 1,466,434 | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| 9 | Sacramento, Yolo, CA CMSA | 5,140 | 16,190 | 21,330 | 685,945 | 799,989 | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| 10 | Salt Lake City, Ogden, UT MSA | 4,842 | 14,168 | 19,010 | 479,338 | 642,688 | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| 11 | Orlando, FL MSA | 4,382 | 8,219 | 12,601 | 614,382 | 786,243 | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| 12 | San Diego, CA MSA | 3,535 | 39,489 | 43,024 | 1,230,446 | 1,299,503 | 3.2% | 3.3% |
| 13 | LA, Riverside, Orange County, CA CMSA | 3,299 | 308,003 | 311,302 | 6,809,043 | 6,767,619 | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| 14 | Austin, San Marcos, TX MSA | 3,217 | 13,083 | 16,300 | 431,345 | 649,645 | 3.0% | 2.5% |
| 15 | Atlanta, GA MSA | 3,076 | 68,213 | 71,289 | 1,542,948 | 2,060,632 | 4.4% | 3.5% |
| 16 | Eugene-Springfield, OR MSA | 2,011 | 2,980 | 4,991 | 126,571 | 152,737 | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| 17 | Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill, NC MSA | 1,785 | 7,582 | 9,367 | 461,516 | 617,475 | 1.6% | 1.5% |
| 18 | Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN & WI MSA | 1,715 | 68,312 | 70,027 | 1,344,797 | 1,595,550 | 5.1% | 4.4% |
| 19 | Houston, Galveston, Brazoria, TX CMSA | 1,632 | 64,613 | 66,245 | 1,768,567 | 2,081,607 | 3.7% | 3.2% |
| 20 | West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, FL MSA | 1,528 | 4,366 | 5,894 | 380,260 | 475,572 | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| Bottom 20 | 1990–2000 | 1990 | 2000 | 1990 | 2000 | 1990 | 2000 | |
| 261 | St. Louis, MO & IL MSA | -3,798 | 32,473 | 28,675 | 1,166,023 | 1,238,964 | 2.8% | 2.3% |
| 262 | Memphis, TN & AR & MS MSA | -3,889 | 12,348 | 8,459 | 458,534 | 511,111 | 2.7% | 1.7% |
| 263 | Ponce, PR MSA | -4,164 | 7,404 | 3,240 | 73,399 | 74,852 | 10.1% | 4.3% |
| 264 | Hartford, CT MSA | -4,727 | 20,482 | 15,755 | 580,229 | 556,012 | 3.5% | 2.8% |
| 265 | Syracuse, NY MSA | -4,911 | 11,090 | 6,179 | 342,422 | 333,208 | 3.2% | 1.9% |
| 266 | Albany, Schenectady, Troy, NY MSA | -4,916 | 17,326 | 12,410 | 417,895 | 419,094 | 4.1% | 3.0% |
| 267 | Kansas City, MO & KS MSA | -5,128 | 15,744 | 10,616 | 778,624 | 881,258 | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| 268 | Milwaukee-Racine, WI CMSA | -5,279 | 37,256 | 31,977 | 772,752 | 816,880 | 4.8% | 3.9% |
| 269 | Rochester, NY MSA | -5,291 | 15,233 | 9,942 | 509,733 | 516,814 | 3.0% | 1.9% |
| 270 | New Orleans, LA MSA | -5,877 | 36,103 | 30,226 | 531,697 | 570,423 | 6.8% | 5.3% |
| 271 | Richmond, Petersburg, VA MSA | -6,016 | 15,860 | 9,844 | 441,689 | 491,211 | 3.6% | 2.0% |
| 272 | Honolulu, HI MSA | -6,151 | 39,819 | 33,668 | 437,518 | 412,250 | 9.1% | 8.2% |
| 273 | Buffalo, Niagara Falls, NY MSA | -6,228 | 23,641 | 17,413 | 531,122 | 520,350 | 4.5% | 3.3% |
| 274 | Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, MI CMSA | -7,540 | 49,608 | 42,068 | 2,294,108 | 2,482,457 | 2.2% | 1.7% |
| 275 | Cleveland, Akron, OH CMSA | -10,312 | 56,091 | 45,779 | 1,282,092 | 1,375,774 | 4.4% | 3.3% |
| 276 | Pittsburgh, PA MSA | -10,912 | 75,465 | 64,553 | 1,023,825 | 1,057,354 | 7.4% | 6.1% |
| 277 | San Juan, Caguas, Arecibo, PR CMSA | -32,363 | 71,115 | 38,752 | 633,049 | 626,380 | 11.2% | 6.2% |
| 278 | Washington, Baltimore, DC & MD & VA & WV CMSA | -34,538 | 386,064 | 351,526 | 3,611,094 | 3,839,052 | 10.7% | 9.2% |
| 279 | Philadelphia, Wilmington, Atlantic City, PA & DE & NJ CMSA | -37,802 | 280,613 | 242,811 | 2,784,581 | 2,815,405 | 10.1% | 8.6% |
| 280 | Chicago, Gary, Kenosha, IL & IN & WI CMSA | -43,433 | 515,601 | 472,168 | 3,922,295 | 4,218,108 | 13.1% | 11.1% |
|
Includes District of Columbia and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. | ||||||||
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