Detroit transportation statistics show the scale of a system that includes city bus service, an automated downtown rail loop and a major commercial airport. In 2024, DDOT recorded 13,159,260 annual unlinked passenger trips, the Detroit People Mover recorded 1,040,277, and Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) handled 32,971,060 passengers. The transit figures come from the FTA 2024 Annual Agency Profile, while airport figures come from Detroit Metropolitan Airport aviation statistics reports.
Contents
- Detroit transit at a glance
- DDOT service area and network
- DDOT ridership and operating scale
- Detroit People Mover statistics
- DTW monthly passenger activity
- DTW annual passenger and cargo totals
Detroit transit at a glance
The two fixed-route transit systems in the supplied 2024 FTA profiles served very different operating roles. DDOT had a service area population of 1,051,084 across 234 square miles and operated a fixed-route network covering 178 route miles. The Detroit People Mover, by comparison, operated on 2.90 fixed guideway route miles.
| 2024 measure | DDOT | Detroit People Mover |
|---|---|---|
| Annual unlinked passenger trips | 13,159,260 | 1,040,277 |
| Annual passenger miles traveled | 72,882,240 | 1,456,388 |
| Average weekday unlinked trips | 41,464 | 2,477 |
| Vehicles in maximum service | 261 | 6 |
| Annual vehicle revenue miles | 12,207,941 | 269,195 |
| Annual vehicle revenue hours | 767,883 | 23,208 |
The measures are not interchangeable with unique riders or unique journeys. “Unlinked passenger trips” counts boardings by transit mode or service, so a trip involving a transfer can produce more than one unlinked trip. “Passenger miles traveled” measures the distance traveled by passengers, while vehicle revenue miles and hours describe scheduled service supplied by the operator.
The FTA 2024 Annual Agency Profile - City of Detroit reports DDOT’s operating expense per vehicle revenue mile as $3.42, per vehicle revenue hour as $56.19, per unlinked passenger trip as $8.53, and per passenger mile as $1.56. These are agency operating measures for 2024, not fares paid by individual passengers.
DDOT service area and network
DDOT’s 2024 service area population was 1,051,084. The area covered 234 square miles, and the fixed-route mode covered 178 route miles. Together, those figures describe a city bus network operating across a large geographic area with a broad population base.
The agency operated 12,207,941 annual vehicle/passenger car revenue miles in 2024. It also operated 767,883 annual vehicle/passenger car revenue hours. Revenue miles indicate the distance vehicles supplied in revenue service; revenue hours indicate the time supplied in revenue service. Because the two measures describe different dimensions of service, neither alone captures the full operating footprint.
DDOT used 261 vehicles in maximum service in 2024 and had 390 vehicles available for maximum service. The difference between vehicles used and vehicles available is an operating-capacity distinction: the first figure describes vehicles deployed at maximum service, while the second describes the vehicles available for that level of service.
DDOT’s annual passenger miles traveled were 72,882,240 in 2024. Its annual unlinked passenger trips were 13,159,260. Read together, these measures show both the number of boardings and the passenger distance associated with the year, without treating either number as a count of distinct people.
DDOT ridership and operating scale
DDOT’s average weekday unlinked passenger trips were 41,464 in 2024. The average Saturday figure was 27,815, and the average Sunday figure was 19,482. The weekday, Saturday and Sunday measures provide separate service-day snapshots rather than a single daily average.
The three day-type figures also show how DDOT’s recorded boardings varied by day type during the 2024 reporting period. Weekday boardings were the largest of the three reported averages, followed by Saturday and then Sunday. These are reported FTA agency-profile measures; they do not identify the reasons for those differences.
DDOT’s operating expense measures were reported across four denominators. The agency’s cost was $3.42 per vehicle revenue mile and $56.19 per vehicle revenue hour. It was $8.53 per unlinked passenger trip and $1.56 per passenger mile. Each denominator answers a different question: distance supplied, time supplied, boardings served or passenger distance served.
This distinction matters when comparing transit systems. A higher expense per vehicle mile does not automatically mean higher expense per passenger trip, because the passenger volume and passenger miles associated with the service can differ. The figures should therefore be read as a group, with the FTA source label and 2024 period retained for context.
Detroit People Mover statistics
The Detroit Transportation Corporation’s FTA 2024 Annual Agency Profile records 1,040,277 annual unlinked passenger trips and 1,456,388 annual passenger miles traveled for the Detroit People Mover. Average weekday unlinked passenger trips were 2,477 in 2024. The average Saturday figure was 4,530, and the average Sunday figure was 2,944.
The day-type pattern in the People Mover profile differs from the DDOT figures: the reported Saturday average, 4,530, was higher than the reported weekday average of 2,477. These are separate reported averages and should not be combined into an estimate of total weekend ridership.
The People Mover operated 269,195 annual vehicle revenue miles and 23,208 annual vehicle revenue hours in 2024. It used 6 vehicles in maximum service and had 8 vehicles available for maximum service. Its fixed guideway route measured 2.90 miles.
The FTA profile reported operating expense per vehicle revenue mile of $76.59, operating expense per vehicle revenue hour of $888.44, operating expense per unlinked passenger trip of $19.82, and operating expense per passenger mile of $14.16. These measures describe the People Mover’s 2024 operating profile using the same categories as the DDOT profile.
DTW monthly passenger activity
Detroit Metropolitan Airport’s monthly aviation reports provide passenger, cargo and operation measures for selected months in 2024. The airport recorded 2,331,892 total passengers, 28,229,134 pounds of total cargo and 21,315 total operations in February 2024, according to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport February 2024 Aviation Statistics Report.
In March 2024, DTW recorded 2,817,698 total passengers, 30,107,686 pounds of total cargo and 25,089 total operations. April recorded 2,726,469 passengers, 26,343,748 pounds of cargo and 24,946 operations.
May 2024 recorded 2,971,416 total passengers, 37,052,246 pounds of total cargo and 26,089 total operations. June recorded 3,009,363 passengers, 28,465,116 pounds of cargo and 26,502 operations. The June passenger total was the highest among the February-through-June monthly figures listed here, while the May cargo total was the highest in that same group.
The Detroit Metropolitan Airport October 2024 Aviation Statistics Report recorded 2,834,487 total passengers, 33,474,783 pounds of total cargo and 27,009 total operations. The December 2024 report recorded 2,734,512 passengers, 31,268,292 pounds of cargo and 25,583 operations.
| Month in 2024 | Total passengers | Total cargo | Total operations |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | 2,331,892 | 28,229,134 lb | 21,315 |
| March | 2,817,698 | 30,107,686 lb | 25,089 |
| April | 2,726,469 | 26,343,748 lb | 24,946 |
| May | 2,971,416 | 37,052,246 lb | 26,089 |
| June | 3,009,363 | 28,465,116 lb | 26,502 |
| October | 2,834,487 | 33,474,783 lb | 27,009 |
| December | 2,734,512 | 31,268,292 lb | 25,583 |
The monthly reports use different units for the three measures: passengers are people counted by airport reporting, cargo is reported in pounds, and operations count aircraft activity. They should not be added together or treated as equivalent forms of transportation demand.
DTW annual passenger and cargo totals
The Detroit Metropolitan Airport 2024 Annual Aviation Statistics report recorded 32,971,060 total passengers and 303,441 total aircraft operations. It recorded 356,264,740 pounds of total cargo and 69,679 tons of enplaned cargo. Total cargo and enplaned cargo are separate reported measures with different labels and units.
DTW’s 2024 total enplaned passengers were 16,453,913. Of those, 14,890,022 were enplaned domestic passengers and 1,563,891 were enplaned international passengers. These categories describe enplaned passenger totals in the annual airport report; they are not a count of all total passengers moving through the airport.
The annual report also recorded 157,699 aircraft departures and total landed weight of 20,112,892 thousand-pound units in 2024. Aircraft departures and total aircraft operations are different measures: departures cover one direction of aircraft movement, while operations are reported as total aircraft activity.
The annual passenger figure gives the broadest single measure of DTW activity in this dataset, while the enplaned domestic and international figures add a breakdown for passengers boarding flights. The cargo and landed-weight measures describe freight volume and aircraft weight separately, so each should remain tied to its stated unit and reporting definition.
The airport figures come from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport 2024 Annual Aviation Statistics report and the named monthly 2024 Aviation Statistics Reports. The transit figures come from the FTA 2024 Annual Agency Profile - City of Detroit and the FTA 2024 Annual Agency Profile - Detroit Transportation Corporation. The supplied research record identifies these sources as legacy research that was not independently verified; the measurements above are presented with their original source labels and reporting periods.