The state of public transport in European cities
With the growing importance of sustainable mobility and public transport in our cities, this year we decided to go a bit deeper, to take the pulse of our mayors on the state of public transport in their cities, asking them questions about their top challenges, top priorities, and what actions they are working on.
Top challenges
The survey responses from European mayors highlight critical challenges facing public transport systems across cities. The data reveal a strong focus on financial constraints, infrastructure limitations, and changing mobility patterns. The most commonly cited challenge, mentioned by 57% of mayors, is insufficient funding for expansion, maintenance, and fleet renewal. Many cities struggle to modernise their transport networks due to limited budgets and dependency on national and EU funding. This highlights a lack of national resources for long-term investments to sustain quality service, and for some a strong reliance on EU level financial instruments to promote modernisation efforts.
High operating costs, including fuel prices, staff salaries, and maintenance, emerge as the second most pressing concern, affecting 43% of cities. This issue is particularly evident in cities with extensive transit networks that require significant investment to remain efficient. Inflation and the surge in the cost of living are making this a significant challenge for many cities, especially as fiscal transfers from other levels of government do not keep up with rising costs.
Accessibility and affordability are also identified as growing issues, with 38% of mayors identifying these as major concerns. Cities struggle to balance financial sustainability while ensuring that public transport remains inclusive for all residents. Rising costs are putting pressure on the fare structures, while at the same time making it difficult to maintain low fares and improve service coverage.
A workforce crisis is also affecting public transport systems, with 35% of mayors reporting shortages of drivers and mechanics to be a major challenge. Cities struggle to recruit and retain skilled workers, leading to service disruptions and increased operational costs. This issue is particularly acute in Nordic and Western European cities, where competition from the private sector and demographic shifts have worsened the shortage.
Aging or inadequate infrastructure remains a significant barrier to improving public transport for 22% of mayors. Many European cities operate transport networks that are in urgent need of modernisation, particularly in rail and metro systems. Cities highlight the need for infrastructure upgrades, while some also report that existing bottlenecks are limiting service improvements.
Public transport challenges: breakdown of sections
In addition to these primary concerns, 19% of cities struggle with integrating public transport with other modes of transport, such as cycling and walking, making seamless multimodal mobility difficult. 13% of cities also cite traffic congestion as a major issue, significantly impacting service reliability in urban areas. Ride-hailing services and declining ridership pose an emerging challenge, affecting 10% of cities where car-sharing and private mobility options are reducing public transport use.
Without bold investments, Europe’s urban mobility risks stagnation, with worsening service quality, increasing congestion, and higher emissions threatening long-term sustainability. Mayors are clear in their message: without stronger financial and policy support, cities will struggle to maintain efficient, accessible, and climate-friendly public transport networks.
Cities efforts to achieve sustainable mobility transitions
Sustainable mobility transitions constitute a major challenge for cities. Despite major technological developments in electric vehicles, hydrogen power, and mass transit digitisation, the transport sector still accounts for a 25% (and growing) share of Europe’s GHG emissions. An estimated one quarter of which are accountable to urban areas alone.
by Charlotte Halpern
It is becoming increasingly clear that without a step-change in approaching the role of urban transportation in carbon reduction and climate change mitigation, the EU will miss its 2050 net-zero targets to cut transportation GHG emissions by 90%.
This requires looking beyond technological fixes and overcoming deficiencies in governance capacities to plan and deliver sustainable mobility transitions. This is particularly the case for small- and medium-sized cities, to which limited attention has been given in the past in national and European policy frameworks.
City governments often lack the needed resources, in terms of fragmented funding, data, and human capital to address sustainable mobility transition challenges, especially for public transport, the backbone of sustainable urban mobility. Mayors responding to this year’s Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey voiced particular concern for the challenges facing public transport systems across cities.
57% of mayors cited insufficient funding for expansion, maintenance and fleet renewal as the top challenge. Many cities often depend on other levels of government – national and European – for funding, especially when long term investments are needed to improve service quality. 22% of cities struggle with an aging and inadequate infrastructure, highlighting the need for infrastructure upgrades, particularly in rail and metro systems.
Multiple levels of governance may limit the ability of city authorities to develop and deliver an ambitious sustainable transition agenda. While powers and responsibilities at a local level are shared with regional and national authorities, these higher authorities do not necessarily share with local governments the resources that they require to function. As a consequence, city governments often compete against, rather than cooperate with, different levels of authority in the decision-making process. This creates negative lock-ins. In this regard, 43% of the mayors responding to this year’s survey highlighted high operating costs as the second most pressing challenge, whether resulting from fuel and energy prices or from staff salaries and maintenance.
Cities are well placed to identify and target their own mobility reforms in consultation with stakeholders and to address context-specific and path-dependent barriers and opportunities in mobility transformation. Thus, new governance frameworks need to be developed to support them in transforming their cities beyond currently existing paradigms. Responses to this year’s Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey highlighted a number of salient take-aways to achieve this transformation. While the expansion of public transport networks and services is a top priority in 60% of cities, mayors across Europe also make it clear that mobility transitions will need to deliver on wider eco-social outcomes.
First, 48% of mayors declared that public transport should be affordable, and second, 48% highlighted the need for enhanced multimodal connections to improve integration with a wide range of sustainable mobility solutions such as walking, cycling and shared mobility solutions for passengers as well as for logistics. Reducing congestion, limiting car access and supporting active mobility are, in this context, identified as major push and pull drivers for, respectively, 39% and 40% of mayors.
Cities are well placed to take a lead in sustainable mobility transitions. Governance reforms have become unavoidable to accelerate and intensify the shift to sustainable mobility, develop and apply a set of context-specific mobility transition pathways and transform existing infrastructure and networks, while working across sectors and engaging every segment of society.
As national funding options remain limited, European financial mechanisms – as laid out in the European Green Deal and now the Clean Industrial Deal – have been critical for expansion and modernisation efforts. This includes the deployment of clean bus fleets, and alternative fuels and charging infrastructure, which is only considered a top challenge by 19% of respondents.
Yet debates about whether this is enough have resurfaced during negotiations about recovery and resilience plans and, recently, the Clean Industrial Deal.
As these policy documents are under the direct management of the European Commission, cities have repeatedly highlighted the need for a more structured dialogue with the EU institutions to overcome implementation gaps resulting from limited capacities being devolved towards cities.
by Charlotte Halpern
Top priorities
Top mobility priorities in European cities
With growing populations, increasing congestion, and the pressing need for climate action, cities are prioritising major shifts in how people move. The results of the survey show a clear consensus on key areas for investment, and highlight regional differences in how cities are tackling mobility challenges.
The single biggest priority for mayors is expanding public transport networks and services, with 60% of mayors ranking it among their top three priorities. This underlines the urgency of improving metro, tram, and bus networks. Cities with well-established transit systems are working to expand high-capacity services, while others are focused on extending coverage to underserved areas. Whether it’s new metro lines, bus corridors, or better service frequency, the message is clear: cities cannot meet mobility demands without major investment in public transport. When asked to specify current projects, different things where highlighted: Vienna for example, is pressing ahead with an ambitious metro expansion plan running until 2035, ensuring the city’s rapid transit network can meet growing demand. Toulouse, meanwhile, is making history with the largest mobility investment outside Paris, committing €4 billion to strengthen public transport and cycling infrastructure.
Alongside expansion, ensuring public transport remains accessible and affordable is a major concern for cities, ranking as the second-highest priority. As mentioned in their top challenges, cities are increasingly struggling to balance rising operational costs with the need to keep fares low. Cities are prioritising policies to prevent fare hikes, and some are embedding affordability into broader multimodal transport solutions. Across Southern and Eastern Europe, financial constraints and social equity concerns are making affordability a core element of sustainable urban mobility planning.
Beyond improving public transport itself, mayors are focused on making mobility systems more integrated. This means better multimodal connections, ensuring that public transport, cycling, walking, and shared mobility services work together seamlessly. Cities are leading efforts to create multimodal hubs and park-and-ride systems, while also improving public transport links to ports and rail networks. The emphasis on integration reflects a growing recognition that transport networks need to be designed as a whole, not just as individual modes. The mayor of Bristol explains that his city is pioneering its first Liveable Neighbourhoods, prioritising walking, cycling, and public transport access in residential areas. Malaga’s mayor highlights how she is expanding its dedicated public transport lanes and park-and-ride facilities to improve modal interchanges.
Creating opportunities for active mobility ranks as a fourth top priority, showing that mayors are keen to significantly invest energies and resources in cycling infrastructure and making walkability a core tenet of their urban development strategies. This can reduce carbon emissions and improve health and well-being. Mayors give multiple examples of actions they are prioritising: Lyon Metropole is rolling out its ‘Voies Lyonnaises’ network, a transformative cycling project that will connect different parts of the metropolitan area with safe, high-quality bike lanes. Oulu continues to set international standards for year-round cycling infrastructure, while Netwerkstad Twente in the Netherlands has been recognised as ‘Best Cycling City’ and is now developing cycle highways to support long-distance commuting. Ghent is reinforcing its position as a leader in active mobility by integrating cycling and pedestrian infrastructure with vehicle access regulations.
Reducing congestion and limiting car access ranks as the fifth-highest priority, with several cities implementing policies to curb traffic in urban centres. Mayors are leading the way with low-emission zones, circulation plans, and parking restrictions, as well as taking action to limit car use in historic districts. The push to reduce congestion aligns with European climate targets and efforts to reclaim urban space for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport.
Other priorities show a growing focus on technological and environmental challenges. A few mayors are prioritising digital transport solutions such as real-time route planners, AI-driven traffic management, and smart traffic lights, leading the push for Intelligent Transport Systems. Public charging infrastructure is also a priority for some. Road safety, a widespread priority in all cities, is among the top priorities for cities where policymakers are tackling pedestrian and cyclist safety through new urban design measures such as speed limits in high density areas. Finally, some mayors highlight how they are targeting the environmental and safety impacts of last-mile logistics, integrating freight solutions into broader mobility planning. For example, Munich has placed sustainable freight logistics at the centre of its mobility strategy, while Turku is developing a Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan to optimise last-mile delivery.
Regional trends reveal how different urban contexts shape mobility priorities. Western and Central European cities are doubling down on high-capacity public transport and multimodal networks, while Eastern European cities seem to be focused on affordability and expanding basic coverage. Nordic cities are leading the way in electrification and smart transport, while Southern European cities are prioritising congestion reduction and reclaiming public space for pedestrians.
For European mayors, the direction of urban mobility is clear. The challenge now is turning these priorities into reality, and that will depend on securing the right investments, aligning European and national funding with city needs, and accelerating policy changes that empower local governments.