Masabi has published its Public Transit Research Report 2020: Key Factors Influencing Ridership in North America.
The report, which focuses on data collected in fall of 2019 before COVID-19 pandemic began in North America, sheds light on some behaviors affecting public transit ridership across the nation. It also explores the impact that new technologies and urban mobility services, such as ridesharing, are having on the mobility ecosystem.
The report uncovered that only 500 of the 2,500 people surveyed have access to public transit and could provide responses. Of the people who do have access to public transit, 60 percent make use of transit services, denoting that when public transportation is available, adoption follows. But, because public transit availability is limited, the remaining population is forced to use private cars to get from point A to point B. Most riders with access to public transit (31 percent) rate convenience as their primary motivator for choosing to ride transit, over other factors such as price and speed.
According to the survey results, more than 40 percent of riders are now combining ridesharing with public transit for full first-last mile journeys. As such, there is an opportunity for transit agencies to work with ridesharing and other shared mobility services to help create more seamless journeys for riders. Additionally, 16 percent of respondents say they now combine public transit and ridesharing to travel on at least a monthly basis.
Additional key findings from the report include:
- When convenient mobile ticketing solutions were offered, 13 percent of people either took public transit for the first time or started riding more often.
- Twelve percent of riders reported they would start riding public transit, or ride more often, if mobile ticketing became available to them.
- Thirty-three percent of people with access to public transit believe their public transit service is improving in quality, while 88 percent believe their public transit systems are either staying the same or getting better.
According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the average household in the U.S. spends 16 cents of every dollar on private car usage and could save nearly $10,000 a year by taking public transportation instead.
“Public transit plays a crucial role in helping to solve critical congestion, ecological and economic equality issues,” said Brian Zanghi, CEO of Masabi. “Innovative public transit agencies have proven that mobile ticketing, integrations with journey planning apps and collaborations with ridesharing companies help solve commuting challenges by increasing convenience and removing first-last mile problems. At Masabi, we're committed to helping more agencies enable seamless and convenient door-to-door journeys that help increase ridership.”
To see a full breakdown of Masabi’s survey results, download the report.
Methodology
Masabi conducted an online survey in the fall of 2019 to a group of more than 2,500 U.S. residents across different age categories, geographies and gender. However, not all respondents had access to public transit services, so much of the data is based on the responses of the 500 U.S. residents for whom public transportation is an available option.
