After data reporting was required by Congress in 1974, the FTA's National Transit Database (NTD) was set up to be the repository of data about the financial, operating and asset conditions of American transit systems. The NTD records the financial, operating, and asset condition of transit systems helping to keep track of the industry and provide public information and statistics. The NTD is designed to support local, state and regional planning efforts and help governments and other decision-makers make multi-year comparisons and perform trend analyses. It contains a wealth of information such as agency funding sources, inventories of vehicles and maintenance facilities, safety event reports, measures of transit service provided and consumed, and data on transit employees.

FTA uses NTD data to apportion funding to urbanized and rural areas in the United States. Transit agencies report data on a number of key metrics including Vehicle Revenue Miles (VRM), Vehicle Revenue Hours (VRH), Passenger Miles Traveled (PMT), Unlinked Passenger Trips (UPT), and Operating Expenses (OE). This website provides reference materials to support reporting to the NTD and links to NTD data products. 

Changes to Reporting Requirements for 2025-2026

FTA has updated National Transit Database (NTD) reporting requirements for Report Year 2025 and 2026 through a Federal Register Notice. The changes will ensure that the NTD continues to collect accurate and comprehensive data that benefits the transit industry, riders and communities. Please find the original proposal and final notice in this docket.

Improvements include:

• Refinements to Geospatial Data Reporting. FTA recently began collecting geospatial data from transit agencies in the form of General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) feeds. This data helped build the National Transit Map; supports trip planning for transit users; and standardizes information collecting on routes and schedules. FTA will begin requiring shapes.txt files for visual route information. FTA is also requiring all reporters with GTFS submissions to provide an identifier in the agency_id field that can be cross-walked to a field on the NTD's P-50 form, promoting cohesion between NTD and GTFS data.
• Enhanced Safety Reporting for Cyber Security and Rail Collisions. FTA clarified guidance on reporting cybersecurity events to better monitor and mitigate risks for transit agencies. For rail collisions, FTA is adding an element, disabling damage, in line with FTA's recent rulemaking on State Safety Oversight (49 CFR Part 674).
• Asset Data Collection Improvements. To better track ADA accessibility of passenger stations and simplify NTD reporting, FTA is consolidating stations and facility reporting into a single form. FTA is also adding three asset categories to improve state of good repair estimation and modeling.
• NTD System Improvements. FTA is formally expanding waivers for NTD full reporters who predominantly serve rural areas. This will lower reporting requirements for eligible agencies, particularly those affected by changes in the 2020 Census. In addition, FTA will add a self-certification to identify agencies who report to the NTD voluntarily.

New in 2024

FTA has released the 2023 National Transit Database (NTD) Annual Data Products. This series of files include data on ridership, safety, operating expenses, service levels, funding sources, and more from transit providers nationwide. Established in 1974, the NTD has collected service, performance, safety, and financial information from all FTA-funded transit agencies. See the NTD Data page to view the full set of publications and documentation.

The data release includes:

• 2023 National Transit Summary and Trends, which presents an overview of U.S. transit that highlights key transit metrics over the last decade in an easy-to-read format with infographics and summary tables.
• 30 interactive datasets and visual summaries on data.transportation.gov, the DOT's open data platform
• For the first time, an interactive map of facilities and stations
• 27 database files for detailed analyses of the latest NTD data
• 6 updated time-series files for year-over-year analyses of NTD data

Data collection for the 2024 NTD Report Year closes mid-July 2025. The 2024 NTD Annual Data Products will be published online in October 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about NTD reporting? Check out the list of frequently asked questions to answer remaining questions not addressed by the webpage's resources.