The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System reported Thursday that ridership increased more than 10% during the last fiscal year as more people returned to the office.

The agency recorded 75.7 million passenger trips in the fiscal year ended June 30, an increase of 10.4% from 68.5 million in the previous year.

“We believe the increase in ridership is due to a number of factors,” said Sharon Cooney, CEO of MTS. “People are working from home less or not at all, MTS offers a reliable alternative to driving, and taking public transit is much more affordable than driving.”

Stephen Whitburn, MTS CEO and San Diego City Council member, called the increase “a testament to the partnership between riders and dedicated MTS staff.”

The increase in ridership represents a continued recovery from pandemic-era lows. In May, the agency recorded a record week of 271,000 passengers per day – the highest number since the pandemic.

Other ridership milestones for MTS in the past year include:

• The number of youth passengers increased by 22.7% compared to the previous year to 6.8 million trips
• More than 113,000 passengers now use a Youth Opportunity Pass
• Thirteen bus lines recorded increases of 20% or more
• Eight bus lines exceeded the million-trip mark

The increase in ridership is good news for the agency, which suffered a multimillion-dollar deficit during the pandemic. Now weekly ridership is regularly at 85 to 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels and continuing to rise.