Metropolitan Planning Organizations and transit agencies have not been passive in the face of post-pandemic travel disruption. The GAO’s 2026 survey of all 410 MPOs found that at least 80 percent reported taking one or more actions in each of three domains — transit, vehicle use, and housing — since 2019. The range of those actions, and their uneven results, sketch a useful map of where American cities stand. On the transit side, roughly 80 percent of MPOs reported that providers in their communities adjusted service in some form.

The GAO’s March 2026 report on telework and travel patterns contains a data point that deserves to stand alone: as of fiscal year 2024, exactly one of the 26 cities the Federal Transit Administration designates as top transit cities had recovered ridership to 2019 levels. That city is Miami–Fort Lauderdale, at 104 percent. Every other major transit system in the country remains below the line. The spread is wide. Salt Lake City recovered to 91 percent.