Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Ferryboat at Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority carried 1,359,001 ferryboat boardings in FY2024 at $18.10 per ride. Ten years of National Transit Database figures for this service, with safety, reliability and the national comparison.

Ferryboat Boston, MA
FY2024 boardings
1.36M
+34.6% vs FY2023
Cost per ride
$18.10
-7.8% nationwide $16.88
Subsidy per ride
$11.62
-7.6% operating cost less fares
Fare recovery
35.8%
-0.4% nationwide 25.8%
Passenger miles
10.9M
average trip 7.98 miles
Operating cost
$24.6M
Vehicles in service
11
at maximum service
Rides per revenue hour
46.19
29.4K 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 ferryboat 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
Purchased transportation 1,359,001 10,850,748 29,425 $24,591,794 $18.10 $11.62 35.8% 11

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 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority reported this service.

Year Boardings Passenger miles Revenue miles Revenue hours Operating cost Fares Cost / ride Subsidy / ride Fare recovery
2024 1,359,001 10,850,748 286,011 29,425 $24,591,794 $8,805,909 $18.10 $11.62 35.8%
2023 1,009,633 7,652,188 242,186 25,596 $19,817,479 $7,127,213 $19.63 $12.57 36%
2022 595,180 4,375,835 189,037 19,880 $14,935,167 $4,309,134 $25.09 $17.85 28.9%
2021 173,607 1,382,134 149,859 14,596 $14,245,405 $1,398,923 $82.06 $74.00 9.8%
2020 1,194,282 10,161,755 176,412 17,029 $16,117,145 $9,895,123 $13.50 $5.21 61.4%
2019 1,584,440 13,942,294 262,174 24,860 $15,139,977 $11,649,892 $9.56 $2.20 76.9%
2018 1,497,251 11,986,627 227,678 22,719 $13,390,544 $11,007,657 $8.94 $1.59 82.2%
2017 1,489,508 16,570,127 227,257 23,067 $10,714,967 $12,133,183 $7.19 $-0.95 113.2%
2016 1,466,612 12,027,991 230,425 23,538 $13,357,578 $9,882,834 $9.11 $2.37 74%
2015 1,341,397 11,568,376 226,027 22,577 $13,249,163 $9,032,124 $9.88 $3.14 68.2%