CINCINNATI – The Connector has notched a new annual record for ridership during the first nine months of 2023 with 849, 161 passengers through September. That compares to 846, 622 passengers for all of 2022, also a record year.

The month of September was also an all-time record with 115, 114 passengers. In all, the streetcar has beat its own previous monthly records three times in 2023 - in September, in June with 105, 624 passengers and again in July with 111, 320 passengers. The previous best was October 2022 with 103, 700 passengers.

Ridership in May totaled 102,189 passengers and 101, 988 passengers rode the streetcar in August. 

"September's great results pushed us over the high-water mark," said Lori Burchett, deputy director for streetcar services with the Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering, crediting the sustained monthly records to a combination of reasons. "The city's operations partner Transdev continues to keep the streetcar running smoothly and more people are aware of the streetcar as a free, fun and convenient way to get to popular destinations at The Banks, in Downtown and OTR."

The new monthly and annual records continue the streetcar's strong ridership momentum from 2022 and so far in 2023, including five consecutive months of ridership exceeding 100,000 each month since May. 

► Please see the chart below for more ridership details.

► Watch a time-lapse video along the Connector’s route and read a timeline with highlights about the current streetcar system, which began passenger service Sept. 9, 2016. Cincinnati’s original streetcar discontinued service April 29, 1951. 

A Look Back at 2022

Last year's annual record of 846, 622 passengers in 2022 significantly outpaced the previous record year with 571, 601 passengers in 2017, the streetcar’s first full calendar year in operation.

The streetcar, which travels 3.6 miles between OTR and The Banks via the Central Business District, is especially popular during major events such as Oktoberfest and Taylor Swift’s concert in late June at Paycor Stadium. The city adds service to accommodate more passengers during major events. 

The city took over day-to-day management of the streetcar in January 2020 from the Southwest Ohio Transit Authority (SORTA) and it has been fare-free since September 2020, when it returned to service after a five-month hiatus due to COVID pandemic restrictions. 

Other Streetcar Updates

The streetcar team is reviewing submissions from its Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new advertising contract to replace the existing contract, which expires this fall. The RFP submission deadline was Sept. 28. The new contract is unrelated to the system’s naming rights contract with Alta Fiber, which remains in place until 2026.

The streetcar also recently received a $250,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration to use for technology upgrades to its headway management system. The city currently uses SORTA’s headway management system. Proceeds from the FTA grant will allow the city to study the feasibility and cost to obtain its own headway management system. 

Monthly Streetcar Ridership Records 

New Record	Passenger Count	Previous Record	Passenger Count
September 2023	115,114	September 2022	88,992
August 2023 **	101,988	August 2022	83,078
July 2023 **	111,320	July 2022	89,074
June 2023 **	105,624	June 2017	61,404
May 2023	102,189	May 2022	81,175
April 2023	90,165	April 2022	65,352
March 2023	80,215	March 2022	58,874
February 2023	71,183	February 2022	49,641
January 2023	71,363	January 2022	43,131
December 2022	69,303	December 2021	55,105
November 2022	64,675	November 2021	52,440
October 2022	103,700	October 2016	82,934
September 2022	88,992	September 2016	75,485
August 2022	83,078	August 2019	56,402
July 2022	89,07	July 2017	61,404
May 2022	81,175 (Previous: 81,724)	May 2017	53,116
April 2022*	65,352 (Previous: 66,391)	April 2017	49,966
March 2022*	58,874 (Previous: 58,882)	March 2017	37,471
February 2022	49,641	February 2017	36,681
January 2022	43,131	January 2017	35,334
December 2021	55,105	December 2016	52,209
November 2021	52,440	November 2016	49,920

* Denotes audited results versus previously reported passenger counts. 
** Denotes estimates. See explanation below in the last footnote. 

Please note: 

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires the city to track, audit and submit ridership to its National Transit Database (NTD) every month. The city, which uses one of the most conservative methods for reporting streetcar ridership, derives its figures for passenger boardings from infrared sensors known collectively as the Automatic Passenger Counting system (APC). An APC sensor is mounted above every door on all five streetcars. 

The city also audits its APC figures to certify to the FTA that the system is accurate. The city does so by periodically conducting manual passenger counts and comparing those samples to the corresponding APC figures.

Among the metrics measured for ridership, the sensors count each passenger as a single boarding except when unable to distinguish between one or multiple passengers. In those cases, a given passenger boarding is discounted to zero, which results in lower-than-actual passenger counts. 

Ridership totaled 49,627 in June 2022, the only month the streetcar didn’t hit a record in 2022. Service on the Downtown loop was suspended for more than half the month due to the closure of the station stop at 12th and Main. The stop was closed June 12 – July 1 for safety reasons following the partial collapse of an adjacent building.

Passenger counts for parts of June, July and August 2023 are estimates based on an FTA-approved method. A hardware upgrade to the streetcar’s headway management system this summer didn’t integrate with existing software as configured, which resulted in inconsistent counts between June 29 and late August 2023. The integration issue has since been resolved and the streetcar’s APC system is working properly. 

► mORE RIdership Data