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---title: 2019 SEPTA Ridership Datalayout: post.liquidpublished_date: 2021-09-26 00:00:00 +0000slug: septa_ridershipis_draft: falsedescription: | Philadelphia's tranist agency SEPTA publishes yearly line-by-line breakdowns of ridership and revenue stats which we can take the data out of those reports and get a sense of what the most used lines are. Breakdown tables of routes and a make a mapdata: header_image: img/header.jpg---
<style>.tag { padding: 0px 5px; font-family: sans-serif; border-radius: 2px;}
.tag.bus { font-weight: bold;}
.tag.trolley { background-color: #539442; color: #fff;}
.bsl { background-color: #f58220; color: #fff;}
.mfl { background-color:#107dc1; color: #fff;}
.paoli { background-color: #207a50; color: #fff;}
.doylestown { background-color: #715543; color: #fff;}
.media { background-color: #0078c0; color: #fff;}
.trenton { background-color: #f57dbd; color: #fff;}
.nhsl { background-color: #9e3e97; color: #fff;}
.wtrenton { background-color: #4e52a8; color: #fff;}
.tablebar { position: relative; height: 1em;}.tablebar .bar { position: absolute; background-color: #edebed; width: 20%; height: 1.15em; right: 0; border-bottom: 1px solid #cfcfd5;}.tablebar .value { position: absolute; width: 100%;}table tbody tr:hover { background: #f8f1dd;}</style># 2019 <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span> Ridership Data
_Published in September 2021_<p class="illuminated"> Philadelphia's tranist agency <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span>{% capture sidenote %}Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.{% endcapture %}{% include "sidenote.liquid" %} publishes yearly line-by-line breakdowns of ridership and revenue stats{% capture sidenote %}Full statistics for each route were previously published at http://septa.org/strategic-plan/reports.html though that page has since been removed. It's still avaliable on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200803144310/https://septa.org/strategic-plan/reports.html">archive.org</a>.{% endcapture %}{% include "sidenote.liquid" %} which we can take and get a sense of how <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span> operates.</p>
For every bus, trolley, and train, <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span> has the following operating statistics for fiscal year 2019:
- **One way route miles (avg)** The averge distance of a route - **Daily average (wk) ridership** Average number of rides on a weekday - **Vehicle hours (annual)** Total operating hours for all verhicles on this route during the year - **Vehicle miles (annual)** Total miles moved for all vehicles on this route during the year - **Peak vehicles** At the busiest scheduled period the maximum number of vehicles in service - **Fully allocated expenses** Total cost to operate this route during the year - **Passenger revenue** Estimated total revenue generated by this route during the year - **Operating Ratio** How much revenue covered expenses (as a percent) for this route - **Mode** Kind of transportation vehicle (bus, trolley, etc.) - **Vehicle size** Number of train cars, or lenght of bus
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## What Are The Most Popular Lines
Using thise data we can look at all routes with at least 10,000 weekday average riders:
Rank | Route | Vehicle Type | Average Weekday Riders | % Change from 2018 | ---: | -----: | :------------ | ----------------------: | -----------------: | -- 1 | <span class="tag mfl">Market Frankford Line</span> | Subway | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:100.0%"></div><div class="value">178,975</div></div> | -0.9% | <div style="transform:rotate(0.9deg);">🠖</div> 2 | <span class="tag bsl">Broad Street Line</span> | Subway | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:62.7%"></div><div class="value">112,252</div></div> | 0.6% | <div style="transform:rotate(-0.6deg);">🠖</div> 3 | <span class="tag paoli">Paoli/Thorndale</span> | Rail | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:11.7%"></div><div class="value">20,962</div></div> | 6.9% | <div style="transform:rotate(-6.9deg);">🠖</div> 4 | <span class="tag bus">47</span> | Bus 40' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:9.2%"></div><div class="value">16,530</div></div> | 8.6% | <div style="transform:rotate(-8.6deg);">🠖</div> 5 | <span class="tag bus">18</span> | Bus 60' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:9.0%"></div><div class="value">16,049</div></div> | -5.2% | <div style="transform:rotate(5.2deg);">🠖</div> 6 | <span class="tag doylestown">Lansdale/Doylestown</span> | Rail | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:8.9%"></div><div class="value">16,016</div></div> | 4.6% | <div style="transform:rotate(-4.6deg);">🠖</div> 7 | <span class="tag bus">G</span> | Bus 40' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:7.9%"></div><div class="value">14,103</div></div> | -7.5% | <div style="transform:rotate(7.5deg);">🠖</div> 8 | <span class="tag bus">23</span> | Bus 40' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:7.8%"></div><div class="value">14,005</div></div> | -2.2% | <div style="transform:rotate(2.2deg);">🠖</div> 9 | <span class="tag bus">52</span> | Bus 40' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:7.4%"></div><div class="value">13,245</div></div> | -6.2% | <div style="transform:rotate(6.2deg);">🠖</div> 10 | <span class="tag trolley">13</span> | Trolley | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:7.4%"></div><div class="value">13,201</div></div> | 2.6% | <div style="transform:rotate(-2.6deg);">🠖</div> 11 | <span class="tag trolley">11</span> | Trolley | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:7.3%"></div><div class="value">13,026</div></div> | 0.6% | <div style="transform:rotate(-0.6deg);">🠖</div> 12 | <span class="tag trolley">34</span> | Trolley | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:7.0%"></div><div class="value">12,580</div></div> | 0.1% | <div style="transform:rotate(-0.1deg);">🠖</div> 13 | <span class="tag trolley">36</span> | Trolley | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.8%"></div><div class="value">12,107</div></div> | -5.8% | <div style="transform:rotate(5.8deg);">🠖</div> 14 | <span class="tag bus">33</span> | Bus 60' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.7%"></div><div class="value">11,979</div></div> | -6.2% | <div style="transform:rotate(6.2deg);">🠖</div> 15 | <span class="tag trolley">10</span> | Trolley | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.3%"></div><div class="value">11,328</div></div> | 1.5% | <div style="transform:rotate(-1.5deg);">🠖</div> 16 | <span class="tag media">Media/Elwyn</span> | Rail | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.2%"></div><div class="value">11,098</div></div> | 0.2% | <div style="transform:rotate(-0.2deg);">🠖</div> 17 | <span class="tag trenton">Trenton</span> | Rail | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.2%"></div><div class="value">11,087</div></div> | -6.5% | <div style="transform:rotate(6.5deg);">🠖</div> 18 | <span class="tag bus">R</span> | Bus 40' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.2%"></div><div class="value">11,037</div></div> | 15.3% | <div style="transform:rotate(-15.3deg);">🠖</div> 19 | <span class="tag nhsl">NHSL</span> | Rail | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.1%"></div><div class="value">10,893</div></div> | 3.5% | <div style="transform:rotate(-3.5deg);">🠖</div> 20 | <span class="tag bus">56</span> | Bus 60' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.1%"></div><div class="value">10,882</div></div> | -7.0% | <div style="transform:rotate(7.0deg);">🠖</div> 21 | <span class="tag wtrenton">West Trenton</span> | Rail | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:6.0%"></div><div class="value">10,807</div></div> | -5.5% | <div style="transform:rotate(5.5deg);">🠖</div> 22 | <span class="tag bus">26</span> | Bus 40' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:5.9%"></div><div class="value">10,612</div></div> | -5.2% | <div style="transform:rotate(5.2deg);">🠖</div> 23 | <span class="tag bus">21</span> | Bus 40' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:5.8%"></div><div class="value">10,358</div></div> | 32.1% | <div style="transform:rotate(-32.1deg);">🠖</div> 24 | <span class="tag bus">60</span> | Bus 60' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:5.8%"></div><div class="value">10,333</div></div> | -12.3% | <div style="transform:rotate(12.3deg);">🠖</div> 25 | <span class="tag bus">17</span> | Bus 60' | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:5.7%"></div><div class="value">10,199</div></div> | -8.2% | <div style="transform:rotate(8.2deg);">🠖</div> 26 | <span class="tag bus">66</span> | Trackless Trolley | <div class="tablebar"><div class="bar" style="width:5.6%"></div><div class="value">10,063</div></div> | -2.9% | <div style="transform:rotate(2.9deg);">🠖</div>
One thing that really strikes me is just how many more people the two subway{% capture sidenote %}I'm just going to say "subway" to refer to both the MFL and BSL for convienence{% endcapture %}{% include "sidenote.liquid" %} lines cary compared to anything else in the system!
### Median Ridership By Vehicle Type
Vehicle Type | Median Weekday Riders | % Change from 2018 :---------------- | ---------------------: | ---------------------------: Subway | 145,613 | -0.1% Trolley | 11,717 | 0.4% Rail | 9,917 | -2.6% Trackless Trolley | 4,425 | -4.2% Bus | 2,503 | -5.3%
A typical single bus line in the <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span> system moves about 2,500 people a day, while a subway line can move over 100,000 daily.
Though there are a lot of buses, and only two subway lines. Comparing the totals instead:
### Total Ridership By Vehicle Type
Vehicle Type | Total Weekday Riders | Number Of Routes :---------------- | ----------------------: | ---------------: Bus | 473,494 | 125 Subway | 291,227 | 2 Rail | 131,115 | 14 Trolley | 79,037 | 8 Trackless Trolley | 17,828 | 3 _Total:_ | 992,701 | 152
Out of the almost one million riders a day, nearly half are moved by a Bus.
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## Ridership Change
Most of the lines seemed to have a small decrease in ridership, though a couple had massive gains. If we take the total ridership numbers between 2019 and 2018 we can make a histogram of the changes
<figure class=""> <img src="septa_ridership_files/septa_ridership_18_0.svg" /></figure>
### Biggest Ridership Loss
Route | Vehicle Type | Change since 2018 [count] | [%] ----------------------------------------------------------------: | :----------- | ------------------------: | ---: <span class="tag bus">42</span> | Bus | -2,245 | -31.6 % <span class="tag bus">14</span> | Bus | -2,010 | -20.5 % <span class="tag mfl">Market Frankford Line</span> | Subway | -1,610 | -0.9 % <span class="tag bus">60</span> | Bus | -1,270 | -12.3 % <span class="tag bus">G</span> | Bus | -1,057 | -7.5 % <span class="tag bus">17</span> | Bus | -836 | -8.2 % <span class="tag bus">18</span> | Bus | -834 | -5.2 % <span class="tag bus">L</span> | Bus | -823 | -12.0 % <span class="tag bus">52</span> | Bus | -821 | -6.2 % <span class="tag bus">56</span> | Bus | -761 | -7.0 %
### Biggest Ridership Gains
Route | Vehicle Type | Change since 2018 [count] | [%] ----------------------------------------------------------------: | :----------- | ------------------------: | ---: <span class="tag trolley">15</span> | Trolley | +4,065 | 49.8 % <span class="tag bus">21</span> | Bus | +3,324 | 32.1 % <span class="tag bus">R</span> | Bus | +1,688 | 15.3 % <span class="tag paoli">Paoli/Thorndale</span> | Rail | +1,446 | 6.9 % <span class="tag bus">47</span> | Bus | +1,421 | 8.6 % <span class="tag bus">113</span> | Bus | +1,015 | 13.6 % <span class="tag bus">XH</span> | Bus | +950 | 19.6 % <span class="tag doylestown">Lansdale/Doylestown</span> | Rail | +736 | 4.6 % <span class="tag bsl">Broad Street Line</span> | Subway | +673 | 0.6 % <span class="tag bus">107</span> | Bus | +598 | 43.9 %
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## Costs
There is also some interesting data around both revenue and total expenses per route, so we can look at the cost to run a route compared to how much money it makes from fares.
On the whole, <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span> only makes about a third of its expenses from passenger revenue (fares){% capture sidenote %}From <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span>'s FY 2019 Operating Budget:<br><br>_Passenger Revenue_: **$470.5 Million**<br>_Total Expenses_: **$1,453 Million**<br>_Overall Operating Ratio_: 32.4%<br>_Operating Deficit (before subsity)_: $942.6 Million{% endcapture %}{% include "sidenote.liquid" %}. But some lines are more profitable than others.
In general both costs and revenue scale with how many people ride a route. The busier it is, the more vehicles have to be deployed, with more operators, and more maintenance needed. Here we can see how it scales up.
<figure class=""> <img src="septa_ridership_files/septa_ridership_26_0.svg" /></figure>
But notice that mode matters. Here the regional rail (blue) costs are sigificantly higer than the bus (red) baseline.
However in 2019 <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">septa</span> had a entierly different fare structure for regional rail than for busses or trollies. The rail system was zoned so longer trips cost more. If instead we look at the operating ratio—i.e., how much money a line makes compared to its cost—we see that the mode split goes away, and that there is much less of a correlation with ridership.
<figure class=""> <img src="septa_ridership_files/septa_ridership_29_0.svg" /></figure>
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## Maps
With ridership data we can make a map of the system, but drawn with line widths and colors scaled to the ridership numbers.
<figure class="fullwidth"> <a href="img/overview_map.png" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;background:none;text-shadow:none"> <img src="img/overview_map_small.jpg"> </a></figure>
Zooming into just the core of Philadelphia
<figure class="fullwidth"> <a href="img/downtown_map.png" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;background:none;text-shadow:none"> <img src="img/downtown_map_small.jpg"> </a></figure>
We can also see if there is a geographic component to the change in ridership numbers.
<figure class="fullwidth"> <a href="img/change_in_ridership.png" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;background:none;text-shadow:none"> <img src="img/change_in_ridership.jpg"> </a></figure>
It's hard to see any one particular region that gains riders more than another. West Philly might be a touch more green, but the most popular lines are the ones that we might expect (lines that connect with center city or with major transportation centers).
### Raw Data
Download a csv of the 2019 data used in the post:
- [2019_route_stats.csv](img/2019_route_stats.csv) Or [browse some of the numbers as a table](2019-stats.html).
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