Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid
The objective of Passenger Transport Statistics (PT) is to provide monthly information on the number of passengers who travel on city transport (bus and metro), inter-city transport (bus, rail, air and sea) and special and discretionary bus transport.
Transport by bus is researched by means of a sampling survey. For transport by rail, the number of passengers is calculated from the information provided by the rail operators.
Information regarding air transport refers to domestic air traffic (between Spanish airports) and is supplied by Civil Aviation. Information regarding maritime transport refers to disembarked cabotage passengers (between Spanish ports) and is supplied by the State Port Authority.
The population scope is composed of:
On the one hand, by all companies that are dedicated to passenger transport by bus and metropolitan and in particular, those whose main economic activity is within section H "Transport and storage" and belongs to classes 49.31 and 49.39 of CNAE-09.
On the other hand, by the companies that carry out passenger transport by rail (group 49.1 of CNAE-09), passenger transport by sea (cabotage; within group 50.1 of CNAE-09) and domestic air transport of passengers (within group 51.1 of CNAE-09).
The statistical unit of the survey is the company, identified generally by the legal unit, that carries out as economic activity the provision of some of the services included in the population scope. The company is also de responding unit, as it is defined, located and has the accounting and employment data.
The statistical population is made up of the companies engaged in passengers transport by bus and metro at national level, and in particular, those whose main activity belogs to the H section "Transportation and Storage" and classes 49.31 and 49.39 in CNAE-09.
All statistical units located in the national territory that are encompassed in the population scope are object of research.
Dissemination of data is carried out on a National level, besides urban transport by bus data are disemminated by Autonomous Communities. For the seven Spanish cities with metro, the urban transport data is brokendown into metro and bus..
The longest historical series started in January 1996 for domestic air transport, cabotage maritime, Metro of Barcelona, Bilbao and Madrid and for city transport by bus by Autonomous Community.
In January 2000, for the Metro transport of Valencia and for the total transport by rail and within it according to distance (suburban, regional and long distance trains).
In January 2005, for the total inter-city transport by bus and for special and discretionary transport by bus.
In January 2009, for inter-city transport by bus according to distance (suburban, regional and long distance).
In April 2009, for metro transport of Sevilla.
In January 2010, for metro transport of Palma.
In January 2012, for city transport by bus in cities with metro transport.
In January 2015 the Long distance rail was brokendown into AVE and Rest of Long distance.
In January 2017 the air transport passengers were brokendown into mainland Spain, mainland-rest of the territory and inter-island.
In January 2022 Long distance rail AVE was renamed Long distance rail High Speed, including AVE, AVLO, OUIGO and IRYO.
Not applicable
Passengers.
The reference period is the calendar month.
Data referred to the period: Mensual A: 2023 MES: 11
The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).
There is no community Regulation for this statistical operation.
This statistical operation is included in the national statistical plan.
Through the collaboration agreements signed by the Statistics Institutes of the Autonomous Communities, there is monthly exchange of information following the requirements established to maintain statistical secrecy.
The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society
All statistical personnel have the responsibility of maintaining statistical secrecy (art. 17.1 of the LFEP.) In the specific case of this survey, only aggregate information is disseminated, except for metropolitan transport companies, for which information is published individually.
The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.
The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)
The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice
The data is disseminated monthly.
The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web
Survey results are disseminated monthly via a press release, and are also included in publications such as the Statistical Yearbook, Monthly Statistical Bulletin, INE Figures, etc.
The last press release disseminated and the annex tables: https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176906&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735576820
The methodology with the methodological characteritics of the staistical operation, the standardized methodological report and the PT file: https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176906&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735576820
INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.
Access to tables and time series within the section "Services\Transport" on INEbase.
In 2023 the total number of accesses to the website was 107,401.
This survey does not disseminate microdata.
Via the Dissemination Area of the INE, the interested users may request specific use of customised information, which shall be made maintaining the confidentiality of the data at all times.
A detailed description may be viewed here.
Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.
Passenger Transport Statistics are carried out according to European Community guidelines, complying with the Code of Practice implemented by Eurostat and taking the necessary measures so that the published indicators meet all the quality requirements.
Quality controls and data editing take place throughout the whole process. Data collection can be carried out with an
e-questionnaire that detects invalid values, restrains the values of the variables and includes edits and workflows while the
respondent fills in the questionnaire.
To reduce the non-response rate the sampled units are contacted by mail and/or telephone
during the data collection period. Sampled units can be fined if they don't fulfil their statistical obligations.
The Passenger Transport Statistics constitute a high-level product. The sample size provides information up to Autonomous Community level for urban transport and the methodology used allows giving an extremely valuable measure on passenger transport, which no other statistical source provides with the same level of detail.
Regarding the limitations of the survey, it is important to point out those that are inherent to statistical sampling, such as non-response and the sampling errors or variation coefficients of the estimates. In both cases, they remain within reasonable limits.
Similarly, the quality criteria collected in article 12, section 1, of (EU) European Parliament and Council Regulation number 223/2009, establishes: pertinence, precision, current nature, timeliness, accessibility, clarity, comparability and coherence.
In January 2009, at the request of an association of the guild, information is provided regarding inter-city transport by bus and distance, distinguishing between long, regional and suburban distances. The results of these statistics are also useful for negotiations between the authorities that grant the concessions and the bus companies that take part in them.
Since January 2015 at the request of RENFE, the data for the Long- distance inter-city rail transport is broken-down in AVE and Rest of Long distance.
Since January 2017, at the request of a user, the air passengers are broken-down into mainland Spain, between mainland and the rest of the territory and inter-island.
Since January 2022 Long- distance rail transport AVE was renamed Long- distance rail transport High Speed, including AVE, AVLO, OUIGO and IRYO.
At an overall level, these statistics cover the needs of information of the different groups of users:
Each one of these users have different needs, according to the purpose and use they will make of the information they require.
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)
The degree of user satisfaction is known based on the satisfaction surveys carried out by the INE and via meetings with associations of specific sectors, in which their needs and suggestions have also been dealt with. For example, the users' need for additional information were taken into account in the contents modification of the questionnaire carried out in 2009. From that date, information is provided regarding the passengers of bus inter-city transport by distance, distinguishing among long, regional and suburban distances.
This statistical operation provides all the information required in the National Statistical Plan, therefore Completense Rate in 2023 is R1=100%. The collected information enables answering most of the requests received. Those that are not fulfilled provide information for possible future modifications.
The sample design tries to minimise the sampling errors, and the different survey processes are aimed at eliminating or reducing, as much as possible, the errors thereof, both in the collection phase (response rate and filtering control) and in the subsequent editing and imputation phases.
To measure the accuracy of this statistical operation coefficients of variation for the variable number of passenger by bus broken-down into: total, regular urban, regular interurban and special and unscheduled are disseminated. The values of the monthly coefficients of variation are available in this link.
The average annual coefficient of variation in 2023 for the national passengers by bus is A1=0.638%.
In a continuous way in this survey, a quantitative assessment is carried out on non-sampling errors and the bias risks associated with:
- Under-coverage, over-coverage and duplicates in the framework. The annual over-coverage rate in 2023 is A2=13.7%.
- Collection tools
- Total non-response, including the causes of the non-response and the measures to reduce it.
- Partial non-response in the main variables of the statistical operation.
- Editing, encoding and imputation of data. In 2023 the annual average imputation rate is A7=18.5%
- Model used in the estimate
and the results of this measurement are analysed so as to carry out the pertinent actions to reduce the different types of errors.
An objective measurement is carried out, based on the non-response rate, which is calculated as the percentage that implies the number of units without information regarding the total of initially selected sample units (that is, minus the framework errors).
The average annual unit non-response rate in 2023 in the Passenger Trsnport Survey has been A4=18.5%.
The average annual item non-response rate in 2023 in the Passenger Trsnport Survey has been A5=18.5%.
No administrative sources are used, so A3=non aplicable.
On average, 40 days go by from the end of the reference month to the publishing date of provisional data.
There is no flash dissemination, so TP1=non aplicable.
The data is delivered on the date announced on the publications calendar, so TP3=0.
The availability of a methodology, a design and a common collection process, filtering, edition and elevation in all of its geographical scope, guarantees comparability of results between the different Autonomous Communities in the case of city transport by bus, for which there is a representative sample at regional level.
All historical series published in Passenger Transport Statistics are homogeneous, therefore comparable in time.
In January 2024 the longer comparable data series have CC2=337 elements.
In the data validation, the information of other statistics is taken into account, such as, turnover corresponding to the economic activity indicators of the services sector, in order to guarantee the coherence between different related statistics.
The coherence between the variables is contrasted in all phases of the statistical process.
The estimation of the budgetary credit necessary to finance these statistics, as foreseen in the 2024 Annual Programme, comes to a total of 240.59 thousand euros.
The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).
This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow: routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.
The data is revised after a year since it is published, as the total of the information received is considered to be complete. Exceptionally, the data may be revised when detecting erroneous information corresponding to passed months and therefore of a provisional nature.
In general, the data is revised after a year since it is published, as the total of the information received is considered to be complete.
The absolute average size of the revisions in the last 36 months, from January 2021to December 2023, is MAR=30,124 passengers, whereas the percentage which that average size of revisions entails regarding the values of the revised estimates in the same period of time is RMAR=0.232%.
To obtain the data of these statistics, the INE resorts to a survey and/or administrative sources depending on the type of transport.
Data collection is carried out monthly.
The respondent companies mainly send their data via the website, by fax or e-mail, even though it may also be provided by phone or post. On-line data collection is in average in 2023 over 88.2%.
Depending on the means of transmission chosen by the respondent, a first control of the incoming data is carried out so as to detect inconsistencies, duplicates, lack of information, etc. If the information is provided via the website, it is the application itself which is in charge of carrying out the first initial validation.
Validation rules are mainly established between related variables and in the same variables by comparison in time. These rules are established in different stages of the statistical process from the aforementioned online questionnaire to the last macro tabulation stage.
Once the data has passed the validations, it is filtered in a centralised way, and the subsequent imputation and elevation are carried out. Once the data is elevated, it is aggregated so as to obtain the publication tables.
Currently, neither calendar effect is corrected nor seasonal adjustments are carried out.
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