APTA reports record public transportation usage in US in 2013; growth outpacing population and VMT growth Growth in public transit ridership since 1995 has outpaced population and VMT growth. Data: APTA. Click to enlarge. In 2013, Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation—the highest annual public transit ridership number in 57 years— according to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This was the eighth year in a row that more than 10 billion trips were taken on public transportation systems nationwide. While vehicle miles traveled on roads (VMT) went up 0.3%, public transportation use in 2013 increased by 1.1%. Since 1995 public transit ridership is up 37.2%, outpacing population growth, which is up 20.3%, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT), which is up 22.7%. Some of the public transit agencies reporting record ridership system-wide or on specific lines were located in the following cities: Ann […]