Survey shows most Europeans are happy with urban public transport

July 2014

Survey shows most Europeans are happy with urban public transport: A report published last month, by the European Commission, has shown that the majority of Europeans are satisfied with most aspects of urban public transport, with ticket prices a stand-out exception.

The survey, which was conducted by the TNS Political & Social network, interviewed residents from the 28 Member States of the European Union aged 15+, from various social and demographic groups.

Just over three quarters (76%) of those questioned had used urban public transport at least once in their lifetime, with around three in 10 (32%) stating they use it at least once a week.

Findings highlighted evident ease of accessibility when it comes to urban public transport, with almost four fifths (77%) of Europeans stating they live within 10 minutes of their nearest station or stop. This figure increased to nearly nine in ten (87%) for those living in a large town.

Collectively, most Europeans are happy with the following areas of urban public transport: availability of through-tickets when using several modes of transport (61%); provision of information on connecting services (58%); cleanliness and maintenance (64%); routes taken by different lines (69%) and passenger security (66%).

However, satisfaction levels dropped to just two fifths (39%) for price of tickets, with only 10 of the Member States surveyed displaying relative majorities that are content with ticket fares.

Individually, Malta presented the most negativity towards urban public transport. Malta’s residents were generally dissatisfied with: timetables (32%); amenities at stations (48%); frequency of service (35%) and punctuality and reliability (49%).

Luxemburg participants, however, were found to be consistently very happy with their services. In particular, Luxemburg respondents were notably satisfied with: timetables (85%); amenities (76%); cleanliness (82%); frequency (83%) and price (64%).

Latvia, Finland and the United Kingdom also ranked highly across multiple measures.