Covid-19 throws US transport into crisis

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Like other countries, the United States has found that the pCOVID-19 andemia has resulted in a sharp reduction in passenger travel in 2020. If the Americans had made 498 billion trips – all types combined – in 2019, the year 2020 ended with a total number of 370 billion trips, down 26%.

The decrease by mode of transport is thus general. She reached 48% for aircraft movements and 60% for commercial airline passengers. In 2019, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checked 823 million passengers at airports. This figure fell last year to 324 millions. The DOT statistics office will release more precise figures in mid-March on the state of air travel in 2020.

Public transport affected by the pandemic

At the borders, the number of passenger vehicles entering the United States has also decreased with the virtual closure of American territory. Travel for tourism, shopping and family visits are no longer allowed. In 2020, 1.8 million passenger vehicles entered the United States from Canada, a decrease of 91% compared to the 20 million admissions recorded in 2019.

Together with Mexico, the United States registered 31.6 million passenger vehicles. This represents a more limited drop of 37%. The border between Mexico and the United States had recorded 50.3 million vehicles in 2019.

Public transport has also not escaped the gloom. In New York, the Metropolitan Transit Authority counted 667 million travelers against 1.79 billion a year earlier. That is a decrease of 63%.

The performance of WMATA à Washington DC was even worse. The transport agency in the federal capital has seen its bus and metro ridership drop by 79%. This translates to 53 million travelers in 2020 instead of 248 million in 2019.

A San Francisco, the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), which manages the regional train network, saw its traffic increase from 98 to 14 million passengers.

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