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

See Examples For:

passenger mile

If they ran full, buses would emit 0.18 pound of CO2 per passenger mile, making them comparable to rail but at a much lower cost.

From Scientific American ● May 17, 2023

“Passenger rail is 3 times more efficient than a car on a passenger mile basis.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2023

Each such substitution is a step toward curbing climate change, because e-bikes produce significantly lower emissions per passenger mile than even an electric car.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2022

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

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 Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne