Rethinking Transit Metrics in a Post-Pandemic Era
From Peak-hour Recovery to All Day Trust and Reliability
“When will transit ridership return to normal?” This has been a constant question in the news, at conferences, and the focus of budget hearings since early 2020.
In the wake of the pandemic commuting patterns are more fragmented. ‘Normal’ is no longer what it once was. As midday, evening, and weekend travel grew more significant, utilization patterns changed, along with a shifting customer base. In this new era, transit agencies and the public need to move beyond ridership recovery as a primary measure of success. This does not mean that increasing ridership is unimportant. Increasing transit ridership is critical for a system’s long run viability. But focus should be on metrics that reflect reliability, trust, and public value. Improving value-based metrics is equally important and will increase ridership. Transit providers, like other industries, need to examine the relevance of their metrics and redesign service delivery if necessary. Success or failure should not be judged on outdated measurement systems.
Aligning Service with Daily Life
Today, transit’s effectiveness centers on its reliability to support everyday life across all times of day. Demand is not singularly concentrated around peak-hour commutes but more distributed across the day and week.
Riders of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) PATH trains have expressed a growing frustration with 20-minute midday wait times and insufficient trains on weekends despite a stronger recovery of weekend ridership compared to weekdays. A recent petition calls for trains to run every 5 minutes during off-peak hours. Recognizing a similar shift, Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) proposed changes to its bus lines, reducing trips through downtown and increasing accessibility to more popular destinations. The changes aim to reduce redundant routes and improve access to higher-ridership destinations such as job centers, retail corridors, and residential neighborhoods outside the city center.
Experiences of PATH and PRT are not unique. With fewer residents traveling to offices five days a week, systems need to increase service where it matters most to retain and increase riders. Aligning service with how people travel may reduce availability in some less utilized areas, but it is essential for the future sustainability of transit networks.
Measure What the Public Values Most
Public transit is a public good, not a profit maximizing enterprise. Its success ought to be measured in terms that reflect public values. While fiscal viability is important, it may not be the most important measurement when seeking to increase ridership.
In 2023, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched a new equity information hub to “guarantee transportation investments are prioritized by communities with the highest need.” This tool operationalizes public values by integrating demographic and service data into planning decisions that have allowed the authority to more easily shift from a one-size-fits-all model to one that targets historically underserved neighborhoods. Also in 2023, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) adopted a new transformation plan, “Your Metro, the Way Forward.” It includes Service Excellence as a goal with dashboards to measure their performance. A new level of transparency to increase credibility among its riders and potential riders.
Measuring these values reflects broader recognition: ridership recovery depends on public trust. Riders are not merely counting minutes or fares; they are evaluating whether transit is responsive to their needs. They demand a service that is frequent, reliable, and safe. Without aligning performance metrics to these values, public transit risks becoming irrelevant amid competition from other mobility options.
What’s Working in Transit
Well positioned transit systems are those adapting to the present, not managing to recover the past. Globally, systems built primarily to serve office commuters have struggled more to adapt to post-pandemic changes than more versatile networks that also support trips for everyday needs. However, adaptability is more than expanding geographic reach or adding new connections.
Service frequency and reliability remain strong predictors of ridership. WMATA has surpassed its pre-pandemic ridership on weekends due to lower fares and more reliable weekend service. Their success illustrates that targeted investment in off-peak service can generate measurable ridership gains, especially when paired with fare incentives.
Whether it is transit systems in the U.S. or abroad, priorities must focus beyond traditional commuting hours. This means rethinking schedules, reallocating resources, and designing service patterns that reflect how people travel today. By investing in frequent and dependable services, agencies can improve their system’s public perception and increase ridership.
Reframing Performance Metrics
Instead of asking “when will transit ridership return to normal,” let’s start by asking: Is service arriving on time, and are riders satisfied with cleanliness, safety, and reliability?
Continuing to structure transit around peak-hour demand risks overlooking growing needs during non-commuting periods such as evenings and weekends. Planning strategies should support greater frequency, more accessible neighborhood service where it is needed most, and improved infrastructure that fosters reliability.
Recognizing these realities isn’t just about financial viability, it is about making transit more resilient in the long run. Systems should prioritize performance metrics that reflect transit’s role as a public service: reliability across the entire service day, equitable access for all communities, and rider satisfaction. These indicators are better aligned with the purpose and values of public transit than ridership recovery alone. Moving forward, measuring what matters most creates better policy and more responsive governance.
Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author and the author alone.
