Germany local public transport passenger journeys
Germany local public transport passenger journeys stood at 9,860 million journeys in 2025, according to Bundesnetzagentur. It is one of the indicators in the Rail and public transport market table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2015 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Rail and public transport market table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local public transport passengers (VDV) | |||||||||||
| Public transport passenger journeys | 9,860 | 9,784 | 9,406 | 8,783 | 6,756 | 7,106 | 10,434 | 10,382 | 10,320 | 10,180 |
Understanding germany local public transport passenger journeys
Measuring urban and regional transit ridership, this series compiles total passenger boardings across municipal buses, trams, light rail, underground metros, and local commuter rail within the VDV reporting framework. The scope covers regular fare-paying passengers, season ticket holders, and subsidized travel journeys across participating local transport associations throughout Germany. It strictly excludes long-distance commercial rail journeys, chartered tourist coaches, private motor transport, and freight operations. Unlike the rolling stock fleet inventories in this table that count physical vehicles, this series measures realized travel demand, recording unlinked trip stages completed across domestic public transit networks.
Summing journey stages across the full reporting year smooths out holiday dips, academic terms, and seasonal weather patterns that routinely affect public transit ridership. Year-on-year comparisons provide the appropriate perspective for tracking structural shifts in public transport patronage, fare policy reforms, and mobility habits. Because the series measures individual boarding stages rather than passenger-kilometres, a single journey requiring transfers between a feeder bus and an urban train counts as multiple journeys, meaning transit network reorganizations can influence the total without changing overall distance traveled. Users comparing this series with regional rail operating performance must also recognize that local bus and tram networks account for substantial portions of this ridership total.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a trip involving transfers between a bus and a train count as one or multiple journeys?
- Under unlinked boarding methodology, each transfer between different transit vehicles or lines is typically counted as a separate passenger journey.
- Are long-distance high-speed and intercity rail passengers included in this metric?
- The series is strictly restricted to local and regional public transport networks, excluding long-distance passenger services.
- How do flat-rate regional ticketing schemes affect the calculation of passenger journeys?
- Flat-rate and subscription travel journeys are estimated through association passenger surveys, electronic validation data, and statistical transport models.