Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation: NAICS 485

About the Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation subsector

The transit and ground passenger transportation subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.

The transit and ground passenger transportation subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Urban Transit Systems: NAICS 4851
• Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation: NAICS 4852
• Taxi and Limousine Service: NAICS 4853
• School and Employee Bus Transportation: NAICS 4854
• Charter Bus Industry: NAICS 4855
• Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation: NAICS 4859

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in transit and ground passenger transportation. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Layoffs

Data series	Back data	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		435.7	431.4	(P) 434.1	(P) 437.4
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees		409.4	406.7	(P) 407.1
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		12	49	128
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		1,185	5,242	18,520
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011
Extended mass layoff events		8	132	(P) 71	(P) 3
Separations		3,953	33,632	(P) 8,338	(P) 322
Initial claimants		4,489	36,932	(P) 9,164	(P) 327
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2010
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	11,980
Bus drivers, school	170,250
Bus drivers, transit and intercity	70,810
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	15,370
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	72,950

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for transit and ground passenger transportation.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in transit and ground passenger transportation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Average hourly earnings		$17.08	$17.25	$16.98	(P) $17.24
Average weekly hours		34.9	34.6	34.4	(P) 35.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Average hourly earnings		$15.09	$15.32	$15.10	(P) $15.33
Average weekly hours		34.6	34.4	34.4	(P) 35.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2010
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	$19.15	$19.34	$39,820	$40,230
Bus drivers, school	$13.75	$14.24	$28,590	$29,620
Bus drivers, transit and intercity	$13.98	$14.95	$29,080	$31,100
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	$12.92	$13.98	$26,870	$29,080
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	$11.26	$12.35	$23,430	$25,680

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in transit and ground passenger transportation. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series	2007	2008	2009	2010
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	89	87	68	(P) 69
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.3
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	3.3	3.1	3.1	3.4
Cases involving days away from work	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.5
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in transit and ground passenger transportation.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2010	4th quarter 2010	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011
Number of establishments
Private industry		18,550	18,629	(P) 18,653	(P) 18,814
Local government		1,588	1,589	(P) 1,603	(P) 1,609
State government		57	57	(P) 57	(P) 57
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: February 10, 2012