In other words, the region's public transportation systems provide vital links to the community for many residents as well as helping to alleviate traffic congestion. For example, RTMA offers contract services with area employers as a means of linking rural residents with the workplace. Because of such differences, it is difficult to make any comparisons between the two systems. In total, the two systems combined had a total of 3.8 million passengers during the most recent year available. Based on the systems operating 365 days per year, that averages 10,500 passengers per day or approximately two percent of the region's total population.
Information is collected in standard format to enable comparisons with other public transit systems.
Systems in communities which have high volume usage are typically large metropolitan regions that have several different types of public transit systems and are also highly dense concentrations of population. Public transit is used as a traffic congestion mitigation effort. The BCD region is experiencing unprecedented growth in virtually every area. Road systems throughout the region are becoming more and more crowded. It is unclear what impact continued growth and development of the region will have upon the public's use of public transit.