The number of high-speed train users skyrockets this year, exceeding 2.9 million travelers in October, registering a growth of 34.3% compared to the same period in 2022, driven by the arrival of new operators such as Ouigo, Avlo or Iryo. The medium distance also grew (15.3% compared to the same month in 2022), boosted by government aid for passenger transport, according to data published this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and reported by Europa Press.
In October, more than 495.3 million passengers used public transportation, 14.8% more than in the tenth month of 2022. Urban transportation, for its part, recorded increases of 18.4%, while the use of intercity transportation rose 14.4%. %. Within the latter, the increase of 17.5% in bus transportation and 24.3% in long distance transportation stands out. The data reflects that more than 142 million travelers used intercity transport last October in Spain.
The greatest growth was recorded in bus transport, which grew by 17.5% to 75 million passengers, while rail passengers grew by 11.5% and air passengers by 6.5%. Maritime transport also grew by almost 6%, reaching close to one million passengers.
Commuter commuters rose by 15.5% for bus transportation and 10.5% for rail transportation. The medium distance grows by 23.5% in bus transport and 15.3% in rail transport. Long distance also continues its rise, increasing by 8.9% in bus transport and 24.3% in rail. Within the latter, High Speed grows by 34.3% to reach almost 3 million passengers.
Urban transport data by CCAA
Regarding urban transport, it was used by more than 304.8 million travelers during October, 18.4% more than the same month of the previous year. Transportation by metro increases by 13.8% in annual rate. The Malaga metro presents the greatest increase (+103.3%), while the Madrid metro presents the smallest (+11%). Among the cities that have a metro, the greatest increases in bus transportation are recorded in Palma (45.7%), and the smallest in Malaga (14.4%).
For its part, urban bus transportation increases by 21.7% in October compared to the same month in 2022. All autonomous communities present positive annual rates in bus transportation. The largest increases occur in the Canary Islands (+39.4%), the Region of Murcia (+33.1%) and the Valencian Community (+25.3%). For their part, Galicia (+16.3%), Andalusia (+16.9%) and Catalonia (+18.1%) registered the smallest increases in this type of transport.
Regarding special and discretionary transportation, more than 48.4 million users used this type of transportation last October, which represents a decrease of 2.6% in the annual rate. The number of passengers on special transport fell by 3.9% and exceeds 31.1 million users. Within this, the school one decreases by 3.5% and the work one decreases by 5.3%. For its part, discretionary transportation decreased by 0.3% compared to the same month in 2022, with more than 17.3 million travelers.