Record numbers travel on public transport in Andalucía with more than 45 million users in six months

More than 45 million passengers used public transport in Andalucía during the first half of the year, in an overwhelming record for the region.

The figure is 40.2% more than the number of users registered during the same period in 2022. In addition to more people taking up public transport since the Covid-19 pandemic, a reduction in fares implemented by the national and regional governments, resulting in up to 60% discounts, has also contributed to the rise.

From January to June, public transport usage doubled the records of 2019, the year just before the pandemic. The first half of this year saw eight million more passengers than in 2019, the year with the highest number of public transport users in history, a record set to be broken in 2023.

From January to June, metropolitan buses experienced a 31% increase over 2022, with 21.6 million journeys recorded, an increase of 4.93% over 2019. June was the best month for intercity metropolitan bus demand in the past five years prior to the pandemic, with almost 3.7 million journeys. The maritime transport service grew by 4.85%, with more than 118,000 journeys in 2022.

However, it is the metro systems which are the most popular means of transport, reaching record figures in the first half of the year with almost 24 million passengers.

The metro in Sevilla achieved the best historical figure in a six-month period with 10.7 million passengers, 29% over 2022 and 17.3% more than in 2019. The metro in Granada increased passenger numbers during the first half of the year by 28.2% compared to 2022 to more than seven million passengers.

Malaga's metro closed the first half of the year with 5.78 million passengers, an increase of 82% compared to the same period last year and 66.1% more than in 2019.