Key figures about several of the nation's largest urban transit systems

(Associated Press) -

BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT

Age of system: 43 years.

Average age of passenger trains: 30.1 years.

Average weekday ridership:

— 2010: 336,366

— 2011: 354,953

— 2012: 380,898

— 2013: 394,828

— 2014: 411,556

Total debt: Fiscal year 2015 debt service is $56 million, representing 6.6 percent of BART's operating budget.

Funding sources: Fares, a 75 percent share of a half-cent sales tax in San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and a dedicated property tax assessment in those counties.

Fare revenue as a percentage of operating budget: 56 percent.

Deferred maintenance backlog: $9.7 billion.

Missed or canceled trips: 1,269 in 2014, about one-half percent of all dispatches.

Source: Bay Area Rapid Transit.

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CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Age of system: The Chicago Transit Authority began full operations on Oct. 1, 1947, but the city's public transit system dates to horse-drawn service in the 1850s. Rail service on elevated lines began in 1892.

Average age of passenger trains: 18 years.

Average weekday ridership:

— 2011: 1,688,245

— 2012: 1,725,614

— 2013: 1,683,492

— 2014: 1,646,088

— 2015: 1,651,135 (projected)

Total debt: The system has outstanding debt of about $4.2 billion. Projected debt service for the 2015 fiscal year was $308.5 million out of an operating budget of $1.4 billion.

Funding sources: The system receives a share of a regional sales tax for transportation, along with state funding and money collected by the city of Chicago, including real estate transfer taxes.

Fare revenue as a percentage of operating budget: about 42 percent.

Deferred maintenance backlog: $22.2 billion covering a 10-year period.

Missed or canceled trips: 0.1 percent of bus trips. The number of missed or canceled rail trips was too low to measure.

Source: Chicago Transit Authority.

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MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

Age of system: Boston opened the first U.S. subway system in 1897. The MTA, later the MBTA or "T'' for short, was established by the Legislature in 1947.

Average age of passenger trains: Average age of entire fleet was not available, but Orange Line subway trains average 32 years and Red Line trains 44 years, with some dating to the 1960s. Additionally, many commuter rail locomotives are 35 years of age or older, and the majority of passenger coaches are 25 years or older.

Average weekday ridership:

— 2010: 1,240,000

— 2011: 1,279,000

— 2012: 1,310,000

— 2013: 1,297,650

— 2014: 1,310,000

Total debt: As of April, the MBTA had $5.5 billion in debt. The agency anticipated that 21.9 percent of its 2015 fiscal year operating budget would be consumed by debt service.

Funding sources: In addition to fares, the T receives 20 percent of the proceeds from the state's 6.25 percent general sales tax. A 2013 transportation-financing law called for additional state subsidies, with $187 million proposed for the 2016 fiscal year.

Fare revenue as a percentage of operating budget: about 40 percent.

Deferred maintenance backlog: $6.7 billion.

Missed or canceled trips: In 2014, the MBTA reported missing 1.7 percent of its total bus and rail trips.

Source: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Governor's special panel on MBTA.

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METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

Age of system: New York's first subway system opened in 1904 and the first city-run subway line in 1932. In 1953, the state Legislature created the New York Transit Authority, which managed all the city's bus, trolley and subway services. In 1968, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was created.

Average age of passenger trains: An overall average was not provided, but about 220 of the transit system's 6,465 cars date to the 1960s.

Average weekday ridership (subways, transit buses, LIRR, Metro-North):

— 2010: 7,963,723

— 2011: 8,045,398

— 2012: 8,130,682

— 2013: 8,214,134

— 2014: 8,386,533

Total debt: The agency has more than $34 billion in debt and currently spends about 17 percent of its budget on debt service.

Funding sources: The system receives 35 percent of its funding from dedicated taxes and 8 percent from state and local subsidies.

Fare revenue as a percentage of operating budget: about 41 percent.

Deferred maintenance backlog: The MTA could not provide an overall figure.

Missed trips/on-time performance: The MTA could not provide figures.

Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

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SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

Age of system: Parts of SEPTA's rail network date to the late 1800s. Two subway lines were built in the 1920s. Some bus garages date to early 1900s.

Average age of passenger trains: Broad Street subway line, 32 years; Market-Frankford line, 16 years; transit trolleys, 34 years; regional rail commuter trains, 26.5 years.

Average weekday ridership:

— 2011: 1,114,000

— 2012: 1,129,000

— 2013: 1,135,000

— 2014: 1,104,000

— 2015: 1,106,000

Total debt: Total debt for the 2016 fiscal year is projected at $541 million, or 3.7 percent of the operating budget.

Funding sources: Pennsylvania passed legislation in 2007 providing a dedicated revenue source for transit subsidies and in 2013 provided a dedicated state funding source for capital projects.

Fare revenue as a percentage of operating budget: 40.2 percent.

Deferred maintenance backlog: about $5 billion.

Missed or canceled trips: In April, the number ranged from 0.13 percent to 3.13 percent, depending on the mode of transport.

Source: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

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WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Age of system: 39 years.

Average age of passenger trains: The current average age of the rail fleet is about 25 years.

Average weekday ridership:

— 2011: 1,180,466

— 2012: 1,181,093

— 2013: 1,157,076

— 2014: 1,180,466

Total debt: Debt service for the 2015 fiscal year is $21.3 million, in an operating budget of $1.7 billion.

Funding sources: WMATA received subsidies from the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland, and Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax City, Fairfax County and Falls Church in Virginia. Amounts paid by each jurisdiction are based on several factors that include ridership, population, number of stations and hours of operation.

Fare revenue as a percentage of operating budget: 49 percent.

Deferred maintenance backlog: not provided.

Missed trips/on-time performance: In first quarter of 2015, Metro reported on-time performance of 78.6 percent for buses, 86.7 percent for rail and 90.5 percent for MetroAccess.

Source: Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.