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

Despite news of recent derailments, rail is safer than cars, per passenger mile traveled.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 16, 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

But it doesn’t mention one seemingly intuitive option: Convince people currently driving to instead take transit, which is much safer per passenger mile.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2022

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

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 Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)