Ridership
Ridership on the RTAs is measured as Unlinked Passenger Trips (UPT), which count each boarding of a transit vehicle as one trip. Transfer trips which involve more than one bus count as separate UPTs.
Fixed-Route Services
RTAs in Massachusetts provided 17.4 million unlinked passenger trips in FY22 – a 30 percent increase from FY21. FY22 saw a 17 percent While ridership increased in FY22, the depressed levels compared to FY2020 likely reflect the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (there were 3 COVID-era months in FY2020). No RTAs were able to meet their ridership targets, however, all but one (BRTA) saw an increase in ridership compared to FY21.
Paratransit Services
RTAs in Massachusetts provided a total of 1.37 million trips on paratransit services in FY2022, 50 percent more riders than in FY21. 13 out of 15 RTAs saw an increase in their paratransit service ridership. CCRTA saw the largest increase at 708 percent. The other twelve that saw increases ranged from 13 to 91 percent. WRTA saw a minor decrease in ridership (.5 percent) and BRTA saw a decrease of 68 percent.
Percent of Revenue Fleet that Uses Alternative Fuels
Using alternative fuels instead of conventional fuels, such as diesel and gasoline, can help RTAs conserve fuel and lower vehicle emissions for the Commonwealth. Over time, transit agencies, including RTAs, have procured vehicles that can utilize these alternative fuels, which include electric, biodiesel, natural gas, dual fuels, and hybrids.
VTA has the highest percentage of alternative fuel vehicles in its fleet at 50 percent. BRTA and WRTA also have more than a quarter of their fleet running alternative fuels (48% and 26% respectively). Not all RTAs have alternative fuel vehicles – CATA, CCRTA, MWRTA, and SRTA are currently not using any alternative fuel vehicles in their fleet.
