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Welcome to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s Data Stories, and thank you for signing up! This monthly series pulls from DRPT’s data to find the stories and trends shaping transit and rail in Virginia. This month’s Data Story reviews ridership over the past fiscal year, highlighting the continued growth in ridership over recent years.
Tracking Transit Ridership Across Virginia
 DRPT collects ridership data for all 41 public transportation providers in the Commonwealth. DRPT collects these ridership numbers (among other performance measures) to evaluate the performance of public transit in Virginia and to determine state transit formula funding. During Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 (July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026), Virginia’s public transit agencies provided a combined total of over 156 million trips - an increase of 4.9% and almost 7.3 million rides over FY 2025.
Statewide Fiscal Year Ridership
FY 2026 had the highest recorded ridership since before and marks the sixth consecutive year of ridership growth. The chart below visualizes this growth through an overview of Virginia’s cumulative transit ridership, from FY 2021 to FY 2026.
 A month-to-month breakdown shows the expected annual fluctuations in FY 2026. Holidays and travel, school being in or out of session, weather closures, and special events can cause spikes and dips. in celebration of Independence Day, more than 866,000 riders used WMATA’s services on July 4th and 5th; far higher than its typical daily average.
Largest Percentage Ridership Increases, FY 2025 to FY 2026
As statewide Virginia ridership has risen, several transit providers have led the ridership growth charts. The Pony Express, the seasonal transit provider in the Town of Chincoteague, led the way with a 40% increase in ridership. The chart below shows the top five providers by ridership increases from FY 2025 to FY 2026:
 Largest Transit Agencies
Transit providers in Virginia vary in size and scale, each designed to fit their local or regional needs. While this section highlights the largest transit providers in Virginia by ridership, it is important to recognize that smaller transit providers (in terms of ridership) provide crucial access to transportation in their communities. The following table presents the top ten transit providers by ridership overall for FY 2026:
Ridership by Mode
So far, this Data Story has reviewed ridership by transit agencies. How about by transit mode? Transit modes are the categories of transit services by vehicle, infrastructure, and the specific operational model provided. For specific definitions of each mode, see DRPT’s Performance Measures Dashboard. The table below shows FY 2026 ridership by transit mode:
 Some transit modes are only provided by a single transit agency. For example, the Virginia Railway Express is the sole operator of commuter rail in Virginia, while Hampton Roads Transit is the sole provider of both light rail and public transit ferryboats in Virginia.
 Looking Forward
Overall, FY 2026 proved to be productive, with several transit agencies seeing growth in the thousands. The future is bright as DRPT works to support Virginia’s transit agencies. The last fiscal year saw many milestones from our transit partners, from Suffolk Transit’s launch of two new regional bus routes to DASH’s expanded service on Line 32, each of which have played a key role in boosting ridership. From WMATA to the Pony Express, every agency makes a difference no matter how big or small. Thank you for riding and thank you for reading!
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