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Pandemic Cuts to Public Transit Persist in Major U.S. Cities

In Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., bus and rail service remain far below where they were before Covid. Here’s how that affects riders. 

Transit service hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Washington, D.C., posing challenges to people who rely on buses and trains to get to work. 

Transit service hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Washington, D.C., posing challenges to people who rely on buses and trains to get to work. 

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
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In the early months of the pandemic, as shelter-in-place orders and economic shutdowns swept the U.S., urban transit agencies moved to cut back service as ridership plummeted. 

Yet millions of people — including and particularly essential workers — continued to rely on buses and subways, and still do today. While most systems gradually restored routes they eliminated last spring, service is still down compared to a year ago in major U.S. cities, according to a new data dashboard. And preexisting gaps in access for historically marginalized groups have not been closed.