Small Cities, Big Moves: Successes and Challenges of Public Transportation in Small Urban Areas

In 2023, more than 7 billion trips were taken on America’s public transit systems, in towns, cities, and rural areas across the country. Demand for transit is growing, as the cost of car ownership increases and fewer young people express interest in driving. Moreover, as America’s population ages, an increasing number of people will lose the desire or ability to drive. Transit provides an affordable option that allows everyone—including older adults, people with disabilities, youth, and people without cars—to continue participating in the economic and social life of their community.

To meet this demand, transit leaders are finding innovative ways to provide service. Too often, however, these agencies must make difficult trade-offs, shifting and even cutting services as resources are insufficient.This report focuses on transit in small cities—places with populations between 50,000 and 200,000, of which there are over 300 in the United States. Transit serves an essential role in these communities, yet they are rarely studied.

As Congress prepares to reauthorize the federal transit program, we offer this report to highlight this important segment of the nation’s transit services. The federal reauthorization is especially important for these areas, which rely more heavily on transit funding from the federal government than their larger counterparts.