11 March 2026

Passenger Transport Statistics (PT)

January 2026. Provisional data

Main results

  • The number of passengers using public transport decreased by 1.8% in January, as compared with the same month of 2025.
  • The annual rate for city transport decreased by 0.2% and for inter-city transport by 4.7%.

More than 454.8 million passengers used public transport in January, 1.8% less than in the same month of 2025.  

The annual rate for city transport decreased by 0.2% and for inter-city transport by 4.7%. Within the latter, it is worth noting the 0.3% rise in the bus transport.

Annual evolution of passenger transport by mode of transport

Percentage

City transport

City transport was used by more than 291.7 million passengers in January, 0.2% less than in the same month of 2025.

Metro transport increased by 1.3% in annual rate and City transport by bus decreased by 1.2% in January.

Inter-city transport

More than 126.1 million passengers used inter-city transport in January, representing a 4.7% decrease as compared with the same month of 2025.

By mode of transport, the bus transport increased by 0.3%, whereas the air transport decreased by 2.0%, the maritime transport by 8.3%, and the rail transport by 11.3%.

Inter-city transport by mode of transport and distance. January 2026

Annual rate. Percentage 

Local rail includes RENFE and all autonomic rail operators. Long-distance rail includes AVE, AVLO, OUIGO e IRYO.

Special and unscheduled transport

More than 36.9 million passengers used special and unscheduled transport in January, indicating a decrease of 4.4% in annual rate.

The number of special transport passengers decreased by 6.8%, reaching more than 25.7 million users. Within this, school transport decreased by 7.4% and work transport did so by 4.8%.

Finally, unscheduled transport increased by 1.8% as compared with the same month of 2025, with more than 11.1 million passengers.

Results by Autonomous Communities

The number of bus transport passengers showed the highest increases in Extremadura (9.3%), País Vasco (6.7%) and Castilla y León (3.6%).

In turn, the largest decreases were showed in Región de Murcia (-6.5%), Galicia (-3.9%) and Comunidad de Madrid (-2.9%) in bus transport.

City transport by bus1. January 2026

Annual rate. Percentage

1 In order to maintain statistical secrecy, data of Autonomous Communities of Illes Balears, Cantabria, Comunidad Foral de Navarra and La Rioja, and the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla are not separately published.

Metro transport decreased in Madrid and Málaga, and increased in the rest of cities with this type of transport. Valencia's metro registered the highest increase (17.0%), and Málaga's registered the highest decrease (0.5%).

Revisions and data update

On the press release day, INE has updated PT data for the same month of the previous year. Results are available at INEbase.

Methodological note

The purpose of the Passenger Transport Statistics (PT) is to provide monthly information regarding the number of passengers transported by city transport (bus and metropolitan), inter-city transport (road, rail, air and sea) and special and unscheduled bus transport.

Road transport in researched through a simple survey. For rail transport, the number of passengers is calculated using the information provided by the railway operators (RENFE and other autonomous companies). The information for air transport is provided by Civil Aviation, and for sea transport, the number of passengers disembarked is compiled using information from State Ports.

Survey Type:
ongoing monthly.
Population scope:
companies involved in passenger transport irrespective of their main activity.
Geographical scope:
the whole county
Reference period of the results:
month.
Reference period of the information:
month.
Sample size:
Approximately 1,500 companies.
Type of sampling:
stratified random sampling of companies, by Autonomous Communities, number of employees and type of transport.
Collection method:
fill in a questionnaire by respondent using one of the following methods: internet (IRIA system), email, fax, telephone or post.

Further information is available in the methodology and in the standardized methodological report

INE's statistics are produced according to the European Statistics Code of PracticeFor further information at Quality at INE and Code of Practice.

For further information see Inicio INEbase Official INE account on @es_ine
All press releases at:
www.ine.es/en/prensa/prensa_en.htm
Press office:
(+34) 91 583 93 63 / (+34) 661 944 540 / (+34) 678 168 837gprensa@ine.es
Information area:
(+34) 91 583 91 00www.ine.es/infoine/?L=1