Malta Uses Buses More Than Any Other EU Country

Malta has officially ranked first in the European Union for travel by bus.

New Eurostat figures show that Malta recorded the highest share of passenger travel by buses and coaches in the EU in 2024, accounting for 17% of all passenger kilometres travelled.

This placed Malta ahead of Ireland at 16.6% and Hungary at 15.3%. In other words, buses make up a larger share of travel in Malta than in any other EU member state.

Malta also ranked second in the EU for passenger travel by sea. Boats and ferries accounted for 2.4% of all passenger kilometres travelled, behind only Estonia at 2.7%. Croatia followed closely with 2.3%.

Across the European Union, however, passenger cars remained the most common form of transport, representing 69.2% of all passenger kilometres travelled in 2024. Air travel accounted for 15.8%, while trains made up 7.5%, narrowly overtaking buses and coaches at 7.3% for the first time since 2014.

The figures are based on passenger kilometres, a measure that represents one passenger travelling one kilometre. This provides an indication of how much travel is carried out using each mode of transport rather than simply counting the number of passengers.

With traffic and public transport remaining frequent topics of discussion in Malta, the latest figures place the country at the top of the EU ranking for bus travel.

Did you expect Malta to rank first in Europe for bus travel?

#MaltaDaily