Moovit, a leading Mobility as a Service (MaaS) solutions provider and creator of the popular urban mobility app, is unveiling its end of year 2022 Global Public Transport Report. The report is composed of big data analyzed from tens of millions of trip requests performed by Moovit app users, coupled with user research in 99 cities across 24 countries. The result portrays a fascinating picture of how people traveled using public and shared transportation following the COVID-19 pandemic, which cities experienced the hardest impact on ridership, and global rankings for the best and worst public and shared transit experiences. 

Moovit’s report shows that in 2022 public transportation became less efficient across the United States and the world, due to increased commute and wait times. The report also shows that people commuted farther distances via public transit than they did in 2020.

In the United States, data was analyzed in the Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-New Jersey-Connecticut, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco Bay, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, and Washington, DC-Baltimore metropolitan areas. Metrics in the report include commute duration, wait time, number of transfers, trip distance, reasons that may encourage more public transit usage, and the impact of COVID-19 on transit ridership. The report also examines how and how often micro-mobility is used. 

Fast facts about public transit in the United States: 

1. Pittsburgh reigns for shortest public transit commutes in the US (averaging 45 minutes), while the NYC-NJ-CT region overtook Miami’s spot for longest commute (58 minutes)
   • *In 2022, Moovit’s service in the NYC-NJ area expanded to CT due to commuters traveling frequently within the tri-state area
2. Although New Yorkers endure the longest commute times, they tie with Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue locals for the shortest wait time (averaging 15 minutes), while Miami locals once again wait the longest at stations — 21 minutes, on average
3. Except for Pittsburgh, the average distance traveled with public transit across the US increased; Locals in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue travel the farthest — 7.15 miles per trip
4. On average across the US, 24% of respondents said that COVID-19 caused them to use public transportation less frequently than they did before the pandemic 
5. The top two most common reasons in the US that would encourage people to use public transit more often are accurate and reliable arrival times and lower cost fares

“Almost three years ago, COVID very quickly disrupted people’s travel habits and urban congestion plunged. Moovit’s report shows that in 2022 people ventured around their cities once again, but are experiencing less efficient commutes,” said Yovav Meydad, Moovit’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer. “With congestion on the rebound, Moovit’s 2022 Global Public Transport Report can be a beneficial tool for any city or transit agency looking for an updated and accurate picture of the daily travel habits of locals and may help in the decision-making process to make getting around more convenient.”

The 2022 Global Public Transport Report can be viewed here.

THE US DATA IN MORE DEPTH:

Total commute time during single trip: 

• Pittsburgh travelers enjoy the shortest commute — 45 minutes per trip, and 52% of them enjoy short commutes of up to 30 minutes
• NYC-NJ-CT commuters endure the longest commutes, averaging 58 minutes (previously second to second to Miami in 2020)

*This may be attributed to the fact that in 2022, Moovit’s service in the NYC-NJ area expanded to CT due to commuters traveling frequently within the tri-state area

• Surprisingly, Washington, DC-Baltimore has the largest percentage of people in the US commuting more than 2 hours per trip at 11%

Total wait time per trip: 

• New York and Seattle commuters generally wait the shortest amount of time at their stop — averaging 15 minutes
• Miami locals wait the longest — 21 minute per trip, with 45% of them waiting more than 20 minutes 
• Twenty-three percent of Boston locals enjoy short wait times of less than 5 minutes

Total trip distance:  

• Commuters in the Seattle region endure the longest distance to travel with an average of 7.15 miles per trip
  • In second place is Miami, commuters averaging 6.7 miles per trip 
  • New Yorkers round out third place with 6.39 miles travelled per trip 
• Pittsburgh commuters have on average the shortest commute, with 3.4 miles per trip
  • Philadelphia is not far behind with 4.7 miles per trip

COVID-19 Impact on Public Transit Usage

• On average, 24% of American respondents said that due to COVID-19, they used public transportation less frequently this year than they did prior to the pandemic 
• However, 52% of American respondents said that COVID-19 did not affect the frequency that they use public transportation
• Some Americans responded that due to COVID-19, they no longer use public transportation at all, including 6% of Miami transit riders

Number of vehicle transfers per trip: 

• Chicago has the biggest amount of travelers (19%) transfering three or more times per journey, the third worst in North America 
• Across all US cities, 38-49% of travelers make two transfers each trip 
• In Pittsburgh, 40% get where they’re going using one line
  • The Bay Area comes in second with 38% not needing to transfer 

Compared to other global cities:

• The world’s longest average commute is endured in Istanbul with a whopping 77 minutes, and the world’s shortest commutes are enjoyed in Burgos, Spain
• When compared to global metropoles, New York ties with Bangkok for longest commute time (58 minutes), and rank 12th for longest average commute out of all 99 cities
• London commutes average 46 minutes, just a minute more than Pittsburgh (which has the shortest commutes in the US)
• Los Angeles, Paris and Rome all share an average of 52 minute commutes
• Among the metropoles, Hong Kong and Singapore have the shortest wait times with 9 minutes each 
• Within the top 10 for longest average trip distance, Paris ranks 9th — 7.47 miles per trip

Micro-mobility usage (bikes, e-scooters, etc.) frequency: 

• A large majority — 69% — of Americans have never used micro-mobility, although the option exists in their cities
• Just 10% of Americans use micro-mobility on a daily basis
• People in Los Angeles and Miami are most prone to using micro-mobility three times a week or more 

Micro-mobility usage type:

• Of the U.S. population that uses micro-mobility daily, 61% use it to travel directly to their destination, while 39% combine it with their public transit trips as the first/last segment

NOTES TO EDITORS

Due to the extensive coverage offered by Moovit outside of the city centers, the named cities covered in Moovit’s report also include the metro areas immediately surrounding that city.