Whatcom Transportation Authority

Bus at Whatcom Transportation Authority

Whatcom Transportation Authority carried 3,760,005 bus boardings in FY2024 at $8.15 per ride. Ten years of National Transit Database figures for this service, with safety, reliability and the national comparison.

Bus Bellingham, WA
FY2024 boardings
3.76M
+7.1% vs FY2023
Cost per ride
$8.15
-1.4% nationwide $8.24
Subsidy per ride
$7.72
-1.5% operating cost less fares
Fare recovery
5.3%
+2.1% nationwide 11%
Passenger miles
11M
average trip 2.92 miles
Operating cost
$30.7M
Vehicles in service
48
at maximum service
Rides per revenue hour
23.99
156.8K 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 3,760,005 10,974,864 156,754 $30,658,705 $8.15 $7.72 5.3% 48

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 Whatcom Transportation Authority reported this service.

Year Boardings Passenger miles Revenue miles Revenue hours Operating cost Fares Cost / ride Subsidy / ride Fare recovery
2024 3,760,005 10,974,864 2,151,307 156,754 $30,658,705 $1,636,804 $8.15 $7.72 5.3%
2023 3,510,911 10,032,081 2,120,805 155,815 $29,021,449 $1,516,827 $8.27 $7.83 5.2%
2022 2,913,033 8,485,521 2,133,859 157,245 $29,261,151 $1,416,699 $10.04 $9.56 4.8%
2021 1,714,220 5,328,249 1,895,487 139,302 $23,263,325 $590,632 $13.57 $13.23 2.5%
2020 1,917,385 5,959,739 1,737,011 128,002 $21,812,977 $656,398 $11.38 $11.03 3%
2019 4,451,508 13,312,852 2,123,146 152,623 $21,237,451 $2,473,937 $4.77 $4.22 11.6%
2018 4,542,536 13,012,492 2,100,487 148,483 $20,710,755 $2,507,904 $4.56 $4.01 12.1%
2017 4,602,021 13,276,920 2,014,058 142,321 $20,029,380 $2,564,870 $4.35 $3.79 12.8%
2016 4,701,668 13,714,443 1,831,845 131,757 $18,163,451 $2,427,484 $3.86 $3.35 13.4%
2015 4,934,429 14,388,850 1,826,686 131,391 $17,335,960 $1,669,332 $3.51 $3.17 9.6%