List of United States local bus agencies by ridership

The following is a list of the largest 30 local bus agencies in the United States, ranked by ridership. All figures are average weekday unlinked passenger trips and come from the American Public Transportation Association

American Public Transportation Association

The American Public Transportation Association is a non-profit organization which serves as an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in the United States. Since its founding in 1882, APTA has educated the public about the benefits of public transportation...

's Transit Ridership Report for the first quarter of 2011, unless otherwise noted.

Rank	Agency	Largest city served	Daily ridership
1	MTA Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...	New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	2,519,100
2	LACMTA Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...	Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...	1,129,600
3	CTA Chicago Transit Authority Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....	Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...	962,900
4	SEPTA	Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...	570,200*
5	Muni San Francisco Municipal Railway The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...	San Francisco San Francisco, California San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...	494,700*
6	WMATA Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...	Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....	418,600
7	MBTA Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...	Boston	368,300*
8	King County Metro	Seattle Seattle, Washington Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...	366,700*
9	MTA Maryland Maryland Transit Administration The Maryland Transit Administration is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. It is better known as MTA Maryland to avoid confusion with other cities' transit agencies who share the initials MTA. The MTA operates a...	Baltimore	298,400
10	Miami-Dade Transit Miami-Dade Transit Miami-Dade Transit is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida, United States and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 12th-largest transit system in the United States....	Miami Miami, Florida Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...	247,500
11	Metro Transit Metro Transit (Minnesota) Metro Transit is the transit division of the Metropolitan Council, a regional governmental agency in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Metro Transit is the largest operator of bus services in the seven-county region surrounding Minneapolis and St...	Minneapolis Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...	231,200
12	METRO Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is a major public transportation agency based in Houston . It operates bus, light rail, future commuter rail, and paratransit service in the city as well as most of Harris County...	Houston Houston, Texas Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...	221,100
13	RTD Regional Transportation District The Regional Transportation District, or RTD, was organized in 1969 and is the regional authority operating public transit services in eight of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in Colorado. RTD is governed by a 15-member, publicly elected Board of...	Denver Denver, Colorado The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...	202,700
14	TriMet TriMet TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...	Portland Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...	193,100
15	MARTA Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...	Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...	189,700
16	Port Authority Port Authority of Allegheny County Port Authority of Allegheny County is the second-largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania and the 11th-largest in the United States. When considering that its service area is the 20th largest in the U.S...	Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...	182,700
17	MTS San Diego Metropolitan Transit System The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is the public transit service provider for Central, South, Northeast and Southeast San Diego County, in the United States. MTS operating subsidiaries include the San Diego Trolley, Incorporated , and San Diego Transit Corporation...	San Diego San Diego, California San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...	169,400
18	RTC Transit	Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...	167,800 (Q4 2009)
19	OCTA Orange County Transportation Authority The Orange County Transportation Authority is the public sector transportation planning body and mass transit service provider for Orange County, California. Its ancestor agencies include not only the prior Orange County Transit District but also such diverse entities as the Pacific Electric...	Orange County Orange County, California Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...	167,500
20	MCTS Milwaukee County Transit System The Milwaukee County Transit System is the largest transit agency in Wisconsin, and is the primary transit provider for Milwaukee county. It ranks among the top 50 transit agencies in the United States...	Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...	147,200
21	VIA VIA Metropolitan Transit VIA Metropolitan Transit is the mass transit agency serving San Antonio, Texas. It began operation in 1978 as a successor to the San Antonio Transit System...	San Antonio San Antonio, Texas San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...	134,900
22	Valley Metro Valley Metro (Phoenix) Valley Metro is the unified public brand of the regional transit system in and around the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area, responsible for public transit.-About Valley Metro:...	Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...	130,600
23	BCT Broward County Transit Broward County Transit is the public transit authority in Broward County, Florida. It is the second largest transit system in Florida. It currently operates the only public bus system in Broward County...	Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...	128,900
24	DART Dallas Area Rapid Transit The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority is a transit agency based in Dallas, Texas . It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs...	Dallas Dallas, Texas Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...	116,100
25	Capital Metro Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Capital Metro, is a public transportation provider located in Austin, Texas. It operates bus, paratransit services and a commuter rail/light rail system known as Capital MetroRail for Austin and several suburbs in Travis and Williamson counties...	Austin Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...	115,300
26	DDOT Detroit Department of Transportation The Detroit Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as DDOT is the public transportation operator of city bus service in Detroit, Michigan...	Detroit Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...	114,700
27	LADOT Los Angeles Department of Transportation The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as LADOT, is an agency created by Los Angeles City Ordinance, and is governed by a citizen commission. The LADOT is best known for providing public transportation to the City of Los Angeles. It currently operates the second largest...	Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...	106,900 (Q4 2009)
28	VTA Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is a special-purpose district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California, United States...	San Jose San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...	103,200
29	Pace Pace (transit) Pace is the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to CTA, Metra and Pace. In 2010, Pace had 35.077 million riders. Pace's headquarters are in...	Arlington Heights Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a village in Cook and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about 25 miles northwest of the city's downtown. The population was 75,101 at the 2010 census....	98,300
30	Metro Bi-State Development Agency The Bi-State Development Agency is an interstate compact formed by Missouri and Illinois in 1949. Since February 2003 the agency has been doing business as Metro. It operates with a budget of $160 million, which is funded by sales taxes from the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, the St...	St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...	80,200

Notes:

*Includes trolleybus service.
Average weekday ridership values for New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

and RTA (Cleveland)
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is the largest transit agency in Ohio, providing over 44 million trips to residents and visitors of the Cleveland area in 2010...

were not included in this report. Based on other provided information, both agencies would likely rank on this list.
AC Transit
AC Transit
AC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...

(Oakland) was not included in this report. It carried 236,000 average weekday riders during Fiscal Year 2008-2009, which would likely place it tenth in this ranking.

See also