Decreasing
What does this measure?
Ridership of the Regional Transit Service, presented per resident.
Why is this important?
Public transportation can help reduce road congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions, improve community mobility, and provide health and economic benefits to a community. The level of ridership reflects the degree to which the region is providing a robust, convenient public transit that attracts riders to utilize the system.
How is our region performing?
Ridership in 2022 was 7.5 trips per resident in the region, 11.3 in Monroe County and 17.2 in the City of Rochester. This represents a 19% increase in the region and Monroe County and a 29% increase in Rochester compared with 2021 during the COVID pandemic. However, rates were significantly lower than in 2016 when ridership was at its highest at 14.1 in the region, 21.2 in Monroe County and 37.2 in Rochester. Ridership was much lower in the surrounding counties, where RTS offers different types of service not just fixed-route buses: 1.0 trip per resident in 2022.
Notes about the data
Ridership is based on where a person boards. Ridership counts the number of trips, not the number of people.
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 8 | ||||||||||||
Monroe | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 12 | 9 | 11 | ||||||||||||
Surrounding Counties | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Rochester MSA | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||||
Genesee | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
Livingston | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Ontario | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Orleans | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Seneca | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Wayne | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Wyoming | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Monroe County Local Areas |
Notes: Figures are per capita. Ridership is based on where a person boards.
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region | 16,679,038 | 16,006,637 | 15,464,264 | 15,248,929 | 9,206,611 | 7,512,960 | 8,905,752 | ||||||||||||
Monroe | 15,774,702 | 15,125,019 | 14,631,199 | 14,441,143 | 8,876,727 | 7,144,486 | 8,475,479 | ||||||||||||
Surrounding Counties | 904,336 | 881,618 | 833,065 | 807,786 | 329,884 | 368,474 | 430,273 | ||||||||||||
Rochester MSA | 16,490,741 | 15,825,626 | 15,306,324 | 15,094,696 | 9,130,768 | 7,411,541 | 8,795,658 | ||||||||||||
Genesee | 63,702 | 68,227 | 54,443 | 45,483 | 20,870 | 22,298 | 26,299 | ||||||||||||
Livingston | 173,296 | 160,250 | 154,760 | 154,309 | 55,086 | 52,405 | 74,224 | ||||||||||||
Ontario | 268,161 | 262,494 | 256,453 | 235,526 | 100,209 | 111,242 | 133,731 | ||||||||||||
Orleans | 40,751 | 42,880 | 34,570 | 41,566 | 26,482 | 26,685 | 23,320 | ||||||||||||
Seneca | 70,760 | 66,171 | 58,824 | 60,175 | 28,019 | 29,682 | 37,191 | ||||||||||||
Wayne | 233,831 | 234,983 | 229,342 | 222,152 | 72,264 | 76,723 | 88,904 | ||||||||||||
Wyoming | 53,835 | 46,613 | 44,673 | 48,575 | 26,954 | 49,439 | 46,604 | ||||||||||||
Monroe County Local Areas |
Notes: Ridership is based on where a person boards.



INDICATORS - Grouped by Topic | REGIONAL VALUE | YEAR | NYS COMPARISON | TREND | REGION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tourism Spending | $1,399 | 2021 |
1
![]() |
0
Maintaining
|
Recreation Spending | $83 | 2021 |
1
![]() |
-1
Decreasing
|
Voter Registration Rate | 84% | 2021 |
2
![]() |
1
Increasing
|
Voter Participation Rate | 64% | 2020 |
3
![]() |
1
Increasing
|
Registered Library Borrowers | 55% | 2020 |
3
![]() |
-1
Decreasing
|
Library Visits | 2.5 | 2020 |
3
![]() |
-1
Decreasing
|
Charitable Contributions as a Percentage of Income | 0.8% | 2020 |
2
![]() |
-1
Decreasing
|
Households Without Vehicles | 10% | 2017-21 |
3
![]() |
0
Maintaining
|
Means of Transportation to Work | 2017-21 | 0 | 10 Not Applicable* | |
Workers’ Commute Time, by Means of Transportation to Work | 2017-21 | 0 | 10 Not Applicable* | |
Crashes Involving Pedestrians | 2.6 | 2022 |
3
![]() |
0
Maintaining
|
Crashes Involving Cyclists | 1.4 | 2022 |
3
![]() |
-1
Decreasing
|
Vehicle Crashes Resulting in Injuries and Fatalities | 60 | 2022 |
3
![]() |
-1
Decreasing
|
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) | 24 | 2022 |
2
![]() |
-1
Decreasing
|
Miles of Dedicated Bike Infrastructure | 2023 | 0 | 10 Not Applicable* | |
RTS Ridership | 8 | 2022 | 0 |
-1
Decreasing
|
RTS On-time Performance | 0 | 10 Not Applicable* |


