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.

Industries in the Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation subsector include a variety of passenger transportation activities, such as urban transit systems; chartered bus, school bus, and interurban bus transportation; and taxis. These activities are distinguished based primarily on such production process factors as vehicle types, routes, and schedules.

North American Industry Classification System

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
Jul.
2009
Aug.
2009
Sep.
2009
Oct.
2009

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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407.0 405.4 (P) 400.5 (P) 400.2

Employment, nonsupervisory workers

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306.4 300.1 (P) 366.2  

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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74 58 10 14

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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6,226 6,032 642 1,773

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2008
1st quarter
2009
2nd quarter
2009
3rd quarter
2009

Extended mass layoff events

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12 11 (P) 158 (P) 77

Separations

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2,024 2,885 (P) 42,792 (P) 13,315

Initial claimants

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1,993 3,340 (P) 39,646 (P) 11,755

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2008

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

11,100

Bus drivers, school

158,630

Bus drivers, transit and intercity

67,950

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

15,980

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

78,640

(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 for production or nonsupervisory employees 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 Production Workers

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2009
Jul.
2009
Aug.
2009
Sep.
2009

Average hourly earnings

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$13.98 $14.25 $14.36 (P) $14.49

Average weekly hours

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29.9 31.5 30.8 (P) 30.6

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2008
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

$18.59 $19.02 $38,670 $39,570

Bus drivers, school

$13.41 $13.57 $27,890 $28,230

Bus drivers, transit and intercity

$14.05 $14.82 $29,230 $30,830

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

$13.14 $13.81 $27,330 $28,720

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

$10.73 $11.73 $22,330 $24,410

(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 2005 2006 2007 2008

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

81 70 89 (P) 85

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

 

Total recordable cases

6.2 5.4 5.3 5.2

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

3.5 3.0 3.3 3.1

Cases involving days away from work

2.3 2.2 2.4 2.3

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.2 0.9 0.9 0.8

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
2nd quarter
2008
3rd quarter
2008
4th quarter
2008
1st quarter
2009

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

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18,190 18,214 18,261 (P) 18,506

Local government

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1,475 1,479 1,479 (P) 1,532

State government

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55 55 55 (P) 56

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: November 20, 2009