Passenger transport demand

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Identification

The common transport policy recognises that growth in passenger transport, as well as in freight transport, needs to be restrained to alleviate congestion problems and environmental pressures. Trends in passenger transport in the EU, as well as the ACs, seem to run counter to this objective.

Statistics on individual mobility by car are lacking for the ACs. However, rapidly growing car ownership levels, the decline in rail and public transport and the increase in transport energy consumption indicate dramatically growing car transport. For example, average car ownership in the ACs (excluding Turkey) increased from 146 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1990 to 223 in 1998. Growth in car transport is highest in the ACs bordering on or near the EU, which are also those with the highest GDP per capita.

National and international air transport in the AC-10 has risen by 17 % since 1993 (no sufficient statistics available before 1993). Only Bulgaria and Romania show a decrease in the number of passenger-km by air.

In the EU, passenger transport increased by around 18 % between 1991 and 1999, remaining closely linked to economic growth. Rail transport grew by 8 % and bus/coach transport by 3 % over the same period. Aviation (national and international) is the fastest growing transport mode with a growth of 60 % since 1993.

Data on non-motorised mobility (walking and cycling) are extremely scarce for the EU as well as the ACs and need to be improved.