Though public transit ridership nationwide in 2013 hit its highest level in 57 years, it was flat to down in the Chicago area — the latest indication that this region's once much vaunted transportation system has seen better days and needs a real jolt.

The new stats come in a report by the American Public Transportation Association, a trade group for operators. It reported that ridership on the nation's public bus and train lines grew by a healthy 1.09 percent last year, to 10.5 billion trips, the highest since 1956, when Dwight Eisenhower was president and the post-World War II move to the suburbs was in full swing.

"Access to public transportation matters," APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy said in a statement. "Community leaders know that public transportation investment drives community growth and economic revitalization."

But the picture is much less rosy here.

According to APTA, ridership on Chicago Transit Authority elevated train lines dropped 1.07 percent, compared with 2.79 percent average growth nationally in major cities that have rail systems, such as San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia. The story was similar with buses, with CTA ridership down 4.62 percent compared with a 0.27 percent drop nationally.

Suburban commuter rail ridership was up 2.1 percent nationally, but it was up just a quarter of that on local Metra lines, or 0.48 percent, APTA reported. And while the number of riders on suburban Pace buses did rise 1.12 percent, the numerical increase was a rather modest 350,000 riders or so.

A CTA spokesman said gains were bigger in 2011 and 2012 and may have been limited in 2013 because the agency boosted the price of its popular weekly and monthly passes. Beyond that, the south leg of the CTA's Red Line was closed for much of the year for a complete reconstruction.

A spokesman for Metra had no immediate comment but said its internal numbers show somewhat greater growth last year.

But Peter Skosey, vice president of the Metropolitan Planning Council, said the findings are consistent with a recent MPC report that found that compared with competing business centers around the world, Chicago has invested too little lately in its network of buses and trains.

The APTA report "proves that, if you build it, they will come. Well, we haven't built it," Mr. Skosey said. "Our region hasn't prioritized putting jobs and growth near transit."

While Metra has extended some of its lines, the CTA has not made a major addition to its system since the Orange Line to Midway Airport opened more than two decades ago, in 1993. And officials from the CTA, Metra and the Regional Transportation Authority all have loudly complained in recent years that they lack the funds to maintain their systems in a state of good repair, much less expand them.

The new report also comes as a panel appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn prepares to present its recommendations on how to revamp and better fund transit here. Its findings are due to be released by March 28.

Update, March 11 —

In an email, an RTA spokeswoman offered this reaction from Leanne Redden, the agency's acting executive director.

"Transit agencies were not immune to the negative impact of the economic recession and were forced to make adjustments in the past few years,” Ms. Redden said. “However, transit ridership in the six-county region was record setting in 2012 and the 2013 decline is really only reflective of CTA ridership changes and the Red Line construction that was for the betterment of the region's transit system.”