City dwellers who drive cars produce two to three times more greenhouse gas than those who use buses and trains. And yet, public transport in Europe has not yet reached its final destination. Transport companies are constantly fighting to attract more users and to become more eco-friendly with sustainable propulsion systems and digital infrastructure. Public transport has long been Europe’s “innovation hub” for urban mobility, with a myriad of ideas and projects.
Public transport plays a central role in the fight to curb the climate crisis. While overall CO₂ emissions in the EU fell continuously from 1990 to 2023, transport is the only sector where emissions are higher today than in 1990. In the face of increasing urbanisation and growing mobility needs, public transport needs to evolve, and has to juggle multiple demands simultaneously. To name but a few, it is tasked with contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions, reducing the burden of car traffic, and fostering social participation. In Europe, public transport is not just a means of transport, but a key element in sustainable urban development and quality of life. In terms of mobility, European public transport systems are still among the best in the world: according to a survey of residents in 50 of the world’s largest cities (2023), in Berlin, for example, public transport is considered the best way to get around. The old continent offers a wide variety of public transport models and approaches, from centralised, national systems as in France to decentralised structures as in Germany where each municipality has its own transport company.
Off the beaten track and into the future
There are two basic organisational models for public transport in Europe: centralised and decentralised systems. Countries such as France rely on centralised control, with the state making key decisions and setting uniform standards. This enables coordinated development and, often, faster investment decisions. In contrast, public transport in Germany is highly decentralised. This means that the responsibility for transport systems resides with each municipality and federal state. While this allows for greater responsiveness to regional needs, it also leads to fragmentation and heterogeneous service quality. However, Germany has a nationwide network and the introduction of a Germany-wide ticket for 49 euros (58 euros since the beginning of the year) has made bus and rail travel much more attractive. The country is also demonstrating sustainable innovation with pilot projects such as Hamburg’s Hochbahn, which aims to become carbon-neutral by 2030. Their 1,100 diesel buses will be replaced by zero-emission electric vehicles by the early 2030s. “Public transport as a whole must offer an attractive range of services by intelligently combining different public transport services and other means of transport,” says Prof Dr Josef Becker of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. Becker and his team are researching a decision support system for the use of autonomous minibuses in rural areas for the combined transport of people and goods. The findings will be published in May this year.
“Public transport as a whole must offer an attractive range of services by intelligently combining different public transport services and other means of transport.”
Networking all modes of transport
“Intermodal transport” has been on the agenda of Scandinavian countries for some time. Since the 2010s, they have been working on the close integration of different modes of transport. For example, optimally networking buses, trains, and bicycle systems to offer users a seamless mobility chain. Stockholm’s Tunnelbana (underground) is renowned for its excellent service, with frequent services and a simple ticketing system that can be purchased online using almost all payment methods, as well as at many points around the city. There are also connections to other transport systems such as bicycles and car-sharing providers at transport hubs. The Netherlands has been following a similar path since 2011. With the “OV-Chipkaart” (OV = Openbaar Vervoer, public transport), the Netherlands offers its passengers a digital payment method that can be used to pay for various public transport systems. This allows users to travel throughout the Netherlands without having to worry about different fares or payment methods.
The 15-minute city
“To handle the climate crisis, the transformation of cities is doubtlessly part of the solution," says Prof. Carlos Moreno, who teaches at the Chair of Entrepreneurship Territory Innovation at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Moreno is known for his wide-ranging work on the future of sustainable cities – in particular the idea of the 15-minute city: “The aim is to improve the quality of urban life by focusing on the proximity of essential daily facilities and services, making sure they can be reached within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from home,” says Moreno. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, is gradually implementing the concept. Since 2014, she has built more than 400 kilometres of new cycle paths, closed large sections of the banks of the Seine to cars, and introduced an extensive 30 km/h zone. The country is also continuously investing in the modernisation of its metro systems. In Paris in particular, the regional network is being expanded. The Régie autonome des transports Parisiens (RATP) ensures an efficient and extensive network and is increasingly working to digitise its system. On the three metro lines 1, 4 and 14, fully automated trains run every three minutes at peak times, punctually and economically.
Pioneers and stragglers in Eastern Europe
There are also remarkable developments in public transport in Eastern Europe, often made possible by EU funding. “The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are particularly progressive, as their ticketing systems have long since been digital. To them, even chip card systems look old-fashioned,” says Prof. Andreas Knie of the Social Science Research Centre Berlin. “What is still missing, however, is a seamless transition from bus or train to e-scooter, bicycle, or taxi,” says Knie. According to Knie, Berlin is doing a good job with mobility apps such as Jelbi that combine public and shared services. If you look further afield to cities such as Warsaw, Prague, or Budapest, you will discover new and efficient systems with high user numbers that have been developed over the last two decades and are based on Western standards. In Budapest, for example, there is a central app that facilitates the use of public transport. Hungary also offers free tickets to passengers aged 65 and over, which promotes social inclusion. It is no coincidence that the country ranks fourth in the EU in terms of average distance travelled by public transport per capita per year, at 2,600 kilometres. With a 36% share of passenger-kilometres, Hungarians are also the most frequent users of public transport in Europe, after Austria (38%). Despite the progress made, some challenges remain in Eastern European countries, particularly in terms of infrastructure development and the modernisation of rural transport. Cost-effectiveness is also often an issue, as systems are not yet as efficient as in Western Europe.
“The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are particularly progressive, as their ticketing systems have long since been digital. To them, even chip card systems look old-fashioned.”
The future is fast becoming reality
Intermodal concepts have become established in European cities: combining different modes of transport, digital mobility platforms, and optimised booking and route planning via mobile phones and transport apps. Ticket machines on the other hand are a discontinued model and the share of printed tickets is rapidly declining. Digital route planning lets users find the shortest and most convenient route, and also protects the climate by integrating and facilitating the use of non-polluting modes of transport, such as rental bike systems like “Stadtrad”. Another topic for the future is zero-emission propulsion, as seen in electric buses and hydrogen trains. They will play a key role in achieving the EU’s sustainability goals. And even if there are setbacks in the introduction of this new technology, such as in Hesse in 2024, these projects should continue to be driven forward. The networking of transport systems is also becoming increasingly important. Mobility platforms that combine different transport options can make public transport more user-friendly. Cities such as Berlin, Helsinki, and Vienna are already focusing on such intermodal concepts. Various research and pilot projects are also raising hopes that autonomous shuttle buses can make a significant contribution to better integrating ‘disconnected’ rural areas and facilitate commuting – as an alternative for the many people still dependending on their cars. While metros in many European cities such as Paris, Nuremberg, Budapest, Copenhagen, Barcelona, and Milan have long been fully automated – the world’s first self-driving metro went into operation in Lille, northern France, in 1983 – driverless buses, which have to cope with highly complex road traffic, are still pilot projects. In 2021, France and Germany were the first countries in the world to create a legal framework for the use of autonomous vehicles in public transport. The Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (English: Association of German Transport Companies – VDV) currently lists more than 15 autonomous shuttle bus projects in public transport, with Hamburg trailblazing with three projects.
