Public transport in Spain facing greatest crisis to date

Public transport in Spain is facing its greatest crisis to date as passenger figures slump in favour of car use and the pandemic creates a fear of contagion.

BUS and train use in Spain’s largest cities have seen travellers figures slashed by half.

While traffic in the cities – predominantly cars – has fallen between 15 and 25 per cent, the use of public transport has dropped by 45 to 50 per cent, according to data from TomTom, Regional Transport Consortium of Madrid, Metropolitan Transport of Barcelona, ​​Generalitat Valenciana, Junta de Andalucia, and City Councils of Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Zaragoza, Seville, Valencia and Malaga, sourced by El Pais.

It’s believed the fear of contagion in subways, trains and buses could be a major factor in the decline.

Operators and experts consulted by the newspaper claim “it is the greatest public transport crisis in history”.

A survey by Spain’s consumer organisation (OCU) published this week confirmed that Spaniards are most concerned about contagion on public transport at 67 per cent, followed by bars (50 per cent), shopping centres (47 per cent) and supermarkets (29 per cent).

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