2024 EMTA Barometer with a focus on 5 Upper cities
The 2024 EMTA Barometer report was launched in June. It combines public transport statistics from 35 metropolitan areas in 21 countries with figures on ridership, modal shares, car ownership, decarbonisation, public transport production, operating costs, and revenues. Metropolitan public transport authorities reported a 10% growth in ridership in 2023 compared to the year before. Yet most ridership figures remain below 2019 levels, as in Budapest (-4.5%), the Oslo area (-3.5%) and the Lisbon area (-3.3%).
Valencia is a rare and remarkable exception, with a 17% growth in ridership compared to the 2019 level, at the metropolitan level. The discounted fares have contributed to the spike in Valencia's ridership and the subsequent crowding effects. The number of boardings per inhabitant in 2023 varies greatly across UPPER regions, from 56 in the Thessaloniki area to 240 in the Oslo area.
The Oslo and Lisbon areas spend 1.0% and 0.8% of the local GDP on public transport operations, much more than the Thessaloniki area at 0.5%. With 60% of trips made by private car, the Lisbon metropolitan area is among those with the highest car use. This is in part explained by the lack of attractive and integrated metropolitan public transport for many years, something that begins to change with the fare integration and new bus contracts.
In Lisbon, the metropolitan area is 30x larger and 5x times more populated than the city of Lisbon. Such a contrast in geographical scales is common across Europe and makes the case for metropolitan-level integration of fares, ticketing, information, timetables, planning, marketing, etc.
In Oslo, the electrification of the urban bus fleet has been far quicker than anywhere else, whereas regional buses remain largely powered by fossil gas and diesel. In Valencia, about half of the urban buses are hybrid, and the whole regional fleet remains powered by fossil fuels.
On the financial side of the analysis, the Lisbon area stands out. With 59% of operating costs covered by fare revenue, it has the highest coverage of all EMTA members, together with the Copenhagen area, and is closely followed by London and Lyon.
"This report highlights the slow pace of bus fleet decarbonisation in many regions, suggesting a significant funding gap remains. In this "new normal" of public transport economics, coupled with transition challenges, the question of funding often discussed in UPPER becomes more critical than ever." Alex Santacreu EMTA Secretary General
EMTA 2024 barometer report and dashboard are available on emta.com together with a webinar recording and an open dataset for those wishing to perform further analysis.
