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

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

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

In 2019, Amtrak subsidies per passenger mile were 34 times larger.

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

In seven days, in all kinds of weather and over city and country roads, the horse and buggy traveled 197 miles at a cost per passenger mile of 2-1/2 cents.

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