Urban transportation saw a notable rise, growing by 23.6 percent and serving 247.58 million passengers. Intercity travel climbed 24.5 percent to 112.43 million. Within this segment, air transportation led with a 33.2 percent increase, according to the latest INE data.
Compared with the previous month, public transport use rose by 2.8 percent, a pace well below the surges of the last two years when increases hovered around 13 percent in 2022 and 10.8 percent in 2021.
Urban Transportation
INE reports that more than 247.5 million passengers used urban transit in February, marking a 23.6 percent year over year increase. Metro services expanded at an annual rate of 26.4 percent. Among major cities, Palma recorded the strongest growth at 88.7 percent, while Bilbao showed the smallest gain at 16.3 percent. For cities with metro networks, bus transport saw the largest rise in Valencia at 45.3 percent, with Bilbao again at the lower end with a 13.5 percent increase.
Bus transport in city networks rose 21.6 percent compared to February 2022, with autonomous communities all reporting positive annual gains. The Canary Islands led with a 39.9 percent increase, followed by the Valencian Community at 35.8 percent and Murcia at 27.5 percent. The smallest boosts were in Catalonia at 14.8 percent, Galicia at 16.6 percent, and the Basque Country at 17.7 percent.
Intercity Transportation
Intercity mobility reached 112.4 million passengers, a 24.5 percent rise over February 2022. In terms of transport modes, air transport accounted for 33.2 percent of intercity travel, maritime 26.1 percent, rail 25 percent, and bus 23.7 percent. Cercanías services grew 22.2 percent in bus transport and 22.6 percent in rail, while medium haul bus travel rose 27.2 percent and train travel surged 75.9 percent.
Looking at long-distance travel, bus transport expanded 31.6 percent and rail 18.6 percent, with high-speed rail showing a 21.6 percent increase.
Private and On-Demand Transport
Private and on-demand transportation services attracted 40.9 million users, reflecting a 3.6 percent year over year uptick.
The number of private transportation passengers fell by 7.5 percent to just over 29.2 million. Within this segment, school transportation declined by 7.2 percent and corporate or business travel by 8.7 percent. Conversely, on-demand transportation surged by 47.7 percent from February 2022, with more than 11.7 million users choosing these services.
Overall, the latest figures underscore a broad recovery across urban, intercity, and on-demand mobility, with variances by mode and region that reflect evolving travel patterns and consumer behavior. INE continues to monitor these trends to support planning and policy decisions.