SPECIAL REPORT: U.S. Bus Fleets Report What data is telling us about the trends impacting the bus market and the state of U.S. fleets. By Mischa Wanek-Libman, executive editor H aving entered the third year living with the COVID19 pandemic, the transit industry has shifted its focus to providing services in communities based on changed mobility patterns. The American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Ridership Trends platform shows average weekly ridership nationwide for the first 13 weeks of 2022 was 107.4 million riders versus an average of 66.8 million riders in the first 13 weeks of 2021 - more than a 60 percent increase. While customers are returning to systems across the U.S., overall ridership remains reduced compared to pre-COVID-19 numbers. Reduced ridership was cited as an ongoing challenge by transit agency respondents to Mass Transit's " 2022 Mobility Outlook, " a survey of readers conducted in late 2021 and early 2022. However, a very close second was recruitment challenges. In a policy brief published in March, APTA found 92 percent of surveyed transit agencies stated they had difficulty hiring new employees with respondents saying bus operations positions were the most difficult to fill. Additionally, 66 percent of respondents said they had difficulty retaining employees. Mass Transit addressed the industry's labor issues in a recent article that explored how the pandemic exacerbated this challenge that had been developing prior to the health crisis. Employee data collected Terminology NTD mode types RB: Bus Rapid Transit CB: Commuter Bus DR: Demand Response DT: Demand Response Taxi Numbers reflected in this report used information within the National Transit Database for the modes listed. 24 | Mass Transit TB: Trolleybus VP: Vanpool MB: Bus 2,850 miles Number of fixed guideway and high intensity busway route miles in U.S. Source: National Transit Summaries and Trends 2020 Active Vehicles in the United States Active cutaway vehicles grew by 3.6% between 2019 and 2020, while active buses decreased by 2.5% Source: NTD 2020 Vehicles 216156479 | Lyudinka | Dreamstime