The other day I mentioned that I don't take the bus myself simply because it would take too long to get to work. But for a lot of people taking the bus or other mass transit can be a great way to save money. The cost of mass transit varies from city to city.
I found this document that lists single adult fare rates for a variety transit systems. If you skim through that you can get an idea of how prices vary. I also then looked up the websites for several cities to see how their prices for single fares and monthly passes compared.
Here is a table of some of the larger cities in the USA as well as a handful of other good size cities, the link to the transit website is in the name of the city :
| single | monthly | |
| New York City | $2.25 | $104 |
| Los Angeles | $1.50 | $75 |
| Chicago | $2.25 | $86 |
| Houston | $1.25 | n/a |
| Philadelphia | $2.00 | $83 |
| Phoenix | $1.75 | $55 |
| San Antonio | $1.10 | $30 |
| San Diego | $2.25 | $72 |
| Dallas | $1.75 | $65 |
| San Jose | $2.00 | $70 |
| Arlington TX | $1.50 | $50 |
| Wichita | $1.75 | $90 |
| Minneapolis | $1.75 | $59 |
Generally the costs fall within a certain range. Typical single basic fare ride tickets are in the $1.10 to $2.25 range. The median is $1.75 and the average is $1.78. The basic fare can be for a shorter ride and mass transit programs often charge a higher fare for longer rides. I did not record the higher fare rates but they typically run closer to $3 per trip. That would be the kind of ride that takes you all the way across town in a larger city.
For a monthly pass the median is $71 and the average is $70. If you take the bus frequently like a daily commute to work then a monthly pass will easily pay for itself.
Bottom Line: The bus typically costs around $1.75 per ride and $70 for a monthly pass, give or take.
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