While the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was felt in the final quarter of SFY20, all of SFY21 was affected by the ongoing pandemic. Ridership ebbed and flowed with the waves of infections. Commuter oriented services suffered the steepest losses--over 80% of ridership in some cases. Other routes recovered somewhat during the year, but there is hardly a route in Vermont that has returned to its pre-pandemic ridership level. Routes oriented toward shopping and other essential services that are used by people with no other transportation options are the ones that have recovered most of their riders.

Ridership data are routinely reported by the regional transit providers to AOT.