Billings Metropolitan Transit System

Bus at Billings Metropolitan Transit System

Billings Metropolitan Transit System carried 385,381 bus boardings in FY2024 at $13.23 per ride. Ten years of National Transit Database figures for this service, with safety, reliability and the national comparison.

Bus Billings, MT
FY2024 boardings
385.4K
+18.4% vs FY2023
Cost per ride
$13.23
-3.6% nationwide $8.24
Subsidy per ride
$12.31
-3.3% operating cost less fares
Fare recovery
6.9%
-2.9% nationwide 11%
Passenger miles
1.46M
average trip 3.79 miles
Operating cost
$5.1M
Vehicles in service
15
at maximum service
Rides per revenue hour
7.74
49.8K hours operated

Ridership

Monthly data through July 2026.

This year against the last five

Same months on one axis, so seasonality does not read as a trend

Annual boardings

Ten-year series

Cost

This service against every bus operator in the country.

Cost per ride

This agency against the national figure for the same mode

Fare recovery

Share of operating cost covered by fares

Directly operated and purchased service, FY2024

NTD reports these separately. An agency that contracts a service out reports the contract price, which bundles costs a directly operating agency reports line by line.

Service Boardings Passenger miles Revenue hours Operating cost Cost / ride Subsidy / ride Fare recovery Vehicles
Directly operated 385,381 1,460,464 49,811 $5,099,731 $13.23 $12.31 6.9% 15

Safety and reliability

For this service alone.

Events by year

Complete calendar years only

Miles between failures

Revenue miles divided by mechanical failures. Higher is better.

Full series

Every year Billings Metropolitan Transit System reported this service.

Year Boardings Passenger miles Revenue miles Revenue hours Operating cost Fares Cost / ride Subsidy / ride Fare recovery
2024 385,381 1,460,464 785,432 49,811 $5,099,731 $354,066 $13.23 $12.31 6.9%
2023 325,561 1,526,951 597,099 41,473 $4,467,223 $319,304 $13.72 $12.74 7.1%
2022 302,015 1,217,464 599,695 41,557 $4,426,230 $295,640 $14.66 $13.68 6.7%
2021 284,306 1,144,912 618,854 42,088 $4,309,351 $293,043 $15.16 $14.13 6.8%
2020 373,146 1,502,476 618,717 42,140 $3,987,942 $319,223 $10.69 $9.83 8%
2019 424,671 1,798,974 606,184 41,735 $3,893,242 $369,856 $9.17 $8.30 9.5%
2018 454,395 1,925,547 593,699 39,814 $3,738,774 $377,703 $8.23 $7.40 10.1%
2017 455,583 1,931,923 588,659 34,925 $3,497,440 $360,464 $7.68 $6.89 10.3%
2016 516,800 2,242,912 571,224 38,794 $3,578,127 $292,958 $6.92 $6.36 8.2%
2015 549,210 1,877,288 557,842 38,850 $3,982,010 $306,906 $7.25 $6.69 7.7%