Passenger numbers on public transport in Germany remained roughly on a par with that of the previous year, preliminary data from the country’s federal statistics office, Destatis, has found.
Some 11.5 billion passengers were recorded across bus and rail services, following an increase from 10.9 billion in 2023 to 11.4 billion in 2024.
Bus transport
Local buses remained the most used mode of transport, carrying 5.3 billion passengers, while trams accounted for about 3.9 billion journeys. Both modes of transport recorded similar usage levels to 2024.
Local rail transport showed a modest increase in passenger numbers, with journeys rising by 1% to 2.8 billion in 2025. This change was linked to disruptions in early 2024, when strikes affected transport services and influenced year-on-year comparisons.
Long-distance services
Elsewhere, passenger numbers on long-distance bus services increased to 157 million, representing a rise of 3% compared with 2024. Long-distance rail services also carried 146 million passengers, a 3% increase.
‘These increases are very likely related to the strikes in the first quarter of 2024 and the expansion of the reporting scope for long-distance rail services starting in the first quarter of 2025,’ Destatis noted.
The data is based on reports from transport operators, including rail, tram, and bus companies that meet minimum passenger thresholds. Read more here.
Im Jahr 2025 waren in Deutschland etwa gleich viele Fahrgäste im #Linienverkehr mit Bussen und #Bahn|en unterwegs wie im Jahr 2024. Die Zahl der beförderten Fahrgäste lag bei rund 11,5 Milliarden. Weitere Infos: https://t.co/F7z2gJ6VsH #ÖPNV #Busse pic.twitter.com/67qkTSLW6I
— Statistisches Bundesamt (@destatis) April 8, 2026
