Public transport

  • The mobility by public transport has increased between 2000 and 2019 in 19 EU MS (+5% at EU level or 112 km). It has significantly decreased (more than 5%) in some Eastern and Southern countries (Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Greece).
  • The use of public transport fell in all EU countries in 2020 due to travel restrictions and social distancing measures to fight COVID outbreak (-43% at EU level). It recovered only partially (+18%/year until 2023), which means a 2023 level still 6% lower than 2019. The result is the use of public transport was higher in 2023 than in 2000 in only 15 countries.
  • Austria, Luxembourg, Ireland and Hungary have the highest use of public transport in 2023 (around 3000 km/year and above), compared to an EU average of around 2,100 km/year, whereas Lithuania, Malta and Croatia have the lowest use (below 1,300 km/year).

Mobility of public transport per capita

  • The Covid outbreak resulted in a general reduction of the share of public transport in total passenger traffic in all countries (-5 points, to 14% in 2020 at EU level), with the highest reduction in Czechia (-10 points), Estonia and Poland (around -8 points for both). Since 2020, the share of public transport has increased in all EU countries.
  • Before Covid, the share of public transport decreased at EU level and in 21 EU countries (-1 point at EU level since 2000 to 18.6% in 2019). It decreased the most rapidly in all Central and Eastern European countries, where public transport used to be dominant (especially in Estonia, Poland and Bulgaria).
  • The share of public transport however increased in 7 countries between 2000 and 2019, mostly in Western European countries, especially in Sweden (+6.5 points) and Luxembourg (+3 points). In 7 other countries, there was a growth in the share of public transport from 2010 to 2019, following a decrease in the previous decade, but not counterbalancing the long-term decreasing trend.
  • Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria had the highest share of public transport in 2019 (more than 25%). 

      • Share of public transport in total passenger traffic