Public transport plays a vital role, especially in urban areas. Millions of people use public transport daily, which not only reduces traffic but also lowers carbon emissions.
Factors that contribute to increased transit such as densely populated areas, good infrastructure, and affordability.
In this blog, you will learn about how many people use public transport globally, what factors affect transit, affordability, and sustainability.
Top Stats
- 3.78 billion people use public transport globally.
- The global public transport industry earns $233 billion annually, averaging $61.60 per user.
Asia-Pacific:
- China Rail serves 3.66 billion passengers annually (24% of global rail volume).
- Shanghai Metro had 37.7 billion riders in 2024.
- Beijing Subway handles 9.46 million daily riders and 3.45 billion annually.
- Tokyo Metro sees 6.53 million daily riders, totaling 3.3 billion annual trips.
- Delhi Metro (India) manages around 2.8 billion annual trips.
Europe:
- London records 1.07 billion Tube rides and 1.7 billion bus trips per year.
- Madrid fully recovered pre-COVID ridership by 2023.
- Tashkent and Istanbul saw 30% to 150% growth in ridership post-pandemic.
North America:
- U.S. ridership (2024): 7.7 billion trips, reaching 85% of pre-COVID levels.
- NYC Subway: 1.15 billion annual rides, 3.4 million per day.
- NYC Bus: 426 million annual rides, 1.4 million per day.
- Washington, D.C.: 475K–540K daily Metrorail riders.
- Philadelphia (SEPTA): 334 million annual trips.
- NYC Subway: 1.15 billion annual rides, 3.4 million per day.
- Canada also recovered 85% of pre-pandemic ridership by 2024.
Middle East & Africa:
- Public transit usage is growing due to new metro, BRT, and rail projects.
Sustainability & Urbanization:
- 55,000 electric buses are in operation globally.
- China leads with over 36,000 electric buses and 77% of urban buses as new-energy vehicles.
- China’s electric bus fleet cuts 440,000 tons of CO₂ annually.
- 22 new metro lines have been launched in Asia and Latin America since 2023.
- 600+ cities with 1 million+ residents account for 75% of global transit use.
Affordability & Accessibility:
- Vienna offers a €365 yearly transit pass (~€1/day), encouraging high usage.
- In Australia, only 33% to 67% of people live within 800 meters of public transit, affecting suburban accessibility.
- Jakarta has only 10% to 15% transit mode share due to poor infrastructure, despite high population density.
Global Overview of Public Transportation Usage
Here is the complete breakdown of the usage of public transportation:
Total Number of Public Transport Users Worldwide
According to stats, there are a total of 3.78 billion users who use public transport. These numbers contribute a very significant amount of money to the transport industry. According to the data, the global transport systems make $ 233 billion in revenue. If we break it down further, they earn $61.60 from one individual.
Usage according to regions
Asia Pacific: Asia Pacific comes first according to the stats. China’s rail system handles 3.66 billion passengers annually, which contributes 24% of the volume to the global transportation system.
Europe: Many cities in Europe recovered their ridership after COVID. The common example is Madrid city, which fully recovered its ridership by 2023. Other cities like Tashkent and Istanbul recovered their ridership by 30% to 150%. Other cities in Europe are still improving.
North America: The US reached 85% ridership of the pre-COVID level in 2024, with the stats of 7.7 billion trips that year. Other countries, such as Canada, recovered 85% that year.
Middle East and Africa: In the Middle East, due to many new projects such as metro systems, African BRT, and rail projects are increasing the usage of public transportation.
Sources: statista.com, en.wikipedia.org, novaoneadvisor.com
Growth Trends in Public Transit Use
Urbanization played a vital role in transit growth. Asia is the biggest continent in terms of population. The world’s 57% of the population lives in Asia. In Asia, the ridership has increased to 50%, with an estimated reach of 68% by 2050.
Projects to provide transportation, such as BRT, metro, and other multinational projects, are being built. To increase sustainability, there are 55000 electric buses globally. Only China has more than 36000 electric buses.
Urbanization and infrastructure play a very essential part. There are 600 cities where 1 million passengers use public transport, which contributes 75% of transit usage. In Asia and Latin America, they have launched 22 new metro lines since 2023. Investment in infrastructure prioritizes fast ticketing, online payments, real-time tracking, and a secure environment.
Sources: marketgrowthreports.com
Public Transportation Usage by Country
Here are the stats for the use of public transportation according to the countries:
United States
Here is the breakdown of the US states according to the data:
New York: In New York, only the subway contributes to 1.15 billion annual paid rides, which means 3.4 million rides every day in 2023. The number increased by 14% in 2023. The bus services provide 426 million annual rides, which means 1.4 million per day. The number increased by 63% compared to 2019. Collectively, there are a total of 8 million daily rides, including buses, subways.
Washington, DC: It is the second busiest transit system in the US. There are 475 to 540k rides daily.
Amtrak: It’s the national railroad corporation that provides rail service in the US. It manages 3oo trains daily across 46 states.
Other systems: The SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) system is the largest system that supports 5 counties in the Philadelphia area. There are 334 million annual trips across the area.
The US public transportation transition handled 7.7 billion passengers in 2024, which is 85% more compared to the pandemic year.
Europe
In Europe, the main cities are London, Paris, and Berlin, managing 107 tube rides along with 1.7 billion bus trips annually.
Asia
Japan: Tokyo has 6.53 million transport transit passengers. Tokyo Metro only manages 2.8 million ridership. Tokyo subways manage 3.3 billion passengers annually, making it the busiest station in the world. The Tokyo subway system has 9 lines and 180 stations managed by Tokyo Metro.
China: In China, the Beijing subway manages 9.46 million passengers on a daily basis. According to the stats, the annual ridership of transit in 2023 was 3.45 billion.
Shanghai Metro is among the world’s top stations. The annual ridership in 2024 was 37.7 billion.
India: In India, the cities that handle a large metro system include Delhi, Bangalore, and India. Delhi Metro has reported 2.8 billion transportation transit trips annually.
Sources: bleuuuz.github.io, en.wikipedia.org, railway-technology.com
Factors Affecting Public Transit Use
Here are several factors that affect public transport:
Urban Population Density
Cities with dense populations lead to high transit ridership. People are normally located near their workplaces and use transportation on a daily basis. To manage public transport efficiently, you need to have a dense population. According to a study in 48 European areas, for connectivity, you need to have a densely populated layout that increases per capita ridership.
Good infrastructure plays a vital role in transport usage, such as in Jakarta, a densely populated area, but due to the poor infrastructure, transit mode is only 10% to 15%.
Affordability and Accessibility
People with low incomes highly depend on public transportation, due to a lack of availability, people have to depend on their personal cars or cabs. In Australia, only 33% to 67% of people walk 800 m to the public transit, which affects the suburbs of the city.
Affordability plays a vital role in the increase of ridership. In Vienna, people need to spend only 1 euro per day on the transit pass, which makes 365 euros for the year, making it most affordable for the people.
Environmental and Sustainability Considerations
Use of public transport reduces the use of personal cars, which contributes to fewer emissions. New York is a heavily dense area and one of the greenest cities in the US, reducing emissions compared to other areas.
China switched to electric transport in 2017, deploying 16359m buses, which is saving the emission by 44000 tons of emissions annually. In 2022, nationwide, 77% of buses switched to energy vehicles. China holds 98% to 99% of the global fleet, which is expected to reach 600000 by 2025.
Sources: newyorker.com, sciencedirect.com, theguardian.com
Conclusion
Public transportation plays an essential role in commuting. To achieve a highly maintained system, and high ridership transit densely populated areas plays a huge role. To achieve that, a good layout plan is very important. Along with population density, affordability and. Good infrastructure and technology play an important role. People with low income mostly depend on public transport. Provide weekly, monthly, and yearly passes to people who continually use the transport.
Additionally, a switch toward electric transport is a great step for environmental sustainability. Electric buses save so much fossil fuel and reduce yearly emissions. Together, these factors can contribute greatly to transport transit.