Eurostat data cited by Euronews put rail at 7.5% of EU passenger travel in 2024, just above buses, coaches and trolleybuses at 7.3%—the first time since 2014 rail's share topped bus travel. Cars still accounted for 69.2%, down 2.9 percentage points from 2014.
From 2014 to 2024, rail’s share rose 0.9 percentage points and buses’ fell 1.3; air travel increased 3.6 points, the biggest shift among modes. Sea travel accounted for 0.4% of EU passenger travel in 2024. Lithuania had the bloc’s highest car-travel share, at 83.7%, while Hungary had the highest rail share, at 11.3%. Croatia’s air-travel share was 45.6%, compared with 30.3% in Bulgaria and 25.3% in Cyprus.
