passenger mile

American  

Or passenger-mile

noun

1. a unit of measurement, consisting of one mile traveled by a passenger, that airlines, railroads, and other public transportation facilities use in recording volume of traffic.

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Other Word Forms

• passenger mileage
  noun

Etymology

Origin of passenger mile

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

For trips outside of Seattle, drivers will earn 38 cents per passenger minute and $1.31 per passenger mile, or $3.37 a trip, whichever is greater.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 2, 2023

On average, cars emit almost one pound of carbon dioxide per passenger mile.

From Scientific American • May 17, 2023

He says federal, state and local subsidies to air and highway travel average around a penny per passenger mile.

From Washington Post • Jun. 30, 2021

In a July 15, 2014, The Juice, Daniel Gross misstated that in terms of BTUs per passenger mile, flying was 57 percent better than driving in 2010.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2015

The runabout made 457 miles in the same time, and the cost per passenger mile was 1.8 cents.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 21 The Recent Days (1910-1914) by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)