Recent figures from the National Institute of Statistics show that public transport in November carried over 423.9 million passengers, marking a 17.7 percent rise from the same month in 2021. This surge highlights a sustained rebound in mobility across different modes and regions.
Urban travel grew by 16.6 percent year over year, while intercity movement rose even more sharply at 22.5 percent. In the intercity category, air travel jumped 26.7 percent, and medium-distance railways saw a remarkable increase of around 72 percent, underscoring shifting travel patterns and renewed demand for regional connectivity.
The month-to-month change from October shows a slight dip of 1.2 percent, a softer decline than the fluctuations observed in recent years. Over the last four years, the monthly changes varied from a substantial drop in 2020 to smaller decreases in 2018 and 2019, with this year posting a relatively modest pullback.
Urban transport usage remains substantial, with over 256 million urban trips recorded in November, reflecting a 16.6 percent rise from a year earlier. This uptick indicates broad-based growth across city networks and commuter services.
Metro systems contributed significantly to the gains, registering an 18.5 percent year-on-year increase. Palma recorded the strongest metro rise at 46.2 percent, followed by Bilbao at 11.9 percent. Among cities with metro services, Palma also led in bus service growth with a 24.0 percent increase, while Seville posted the smallest rise at 8.4 percent.
Bus transportation within the city rose by 15.3 percent in November compared with the same month in 2021. All autonomous communities reported positive annual rates for bus travel, with the Valencian Community climbing 22.4 percent, Extremadura 21 percent, and the Canary Islands 20.9 percent. Aragon, Galicia, and the Basque Country showed more moderate gains of 7.6 percent, 12.2 percent, and 12.8 percent respectively.
Intercity travel surpassed 120.8 million passengers in November, an annual advance of 22.5 percent. The breakdown by mode shows robust growth in air travel at 26.7 percent, railways at 25 percent, bus travel at 20.4 percent, and marine transport at 6.4 percent, signaling broad momentum across longer-distance corridors alongside traditional networks.
Environmental and regional factors appear to influence patterns in public mobility. Bus and rail sectors recorded notable year-over-year gains of 18.4 percent and 23.1 percent respectively, with medium-distance rail showing a striking 71.7 percent rise. Long-distance bus services advanced by 50.1 percent, while railways grew by 12.9 percent, and high-speed rail increased by 15.1 percent in its recent segment. These shifts point to a transport system adapting to changing demand and service improvements.
On the private and on-demand side, more than 47.1 million users relied on these options in November, reflecting an annual increase of 11.8 percent. Special passenger movements reached over 33.5 million, up 0.9 percent, with school-related travel down by 1.8 percent and work-related trips up by 11.8 percent. Optional or flexible transport services saw a sizable rise of 52.3 percent year over year, surpassing 13.6 million riders in November. These figures illustrate a diversified mobility landscape where traditional services coexist with flexible, demand-responsive options, catering to varied travel needs and schedules.