Best and Worst Public Transport Networks in Europe
Whether you're thinking about taking a vacation to a European city or you'd like to move there to work or study, you'll probably want to know about the city's public transport network.
Some cities in Europe are difficult to get around by car, whether because of traffic jams or driving restrictions, so public transport is often the best option.
But that doesn't always mean it's efficient or reliable.
In 2023, the European Commission published a report on the quality of life in European cities. This included residents' opinions on public transport.
More than 71,000 people in 83 cities took part in the survey. People were asked to think about the cost of public transport, how safe it is, how reliable it is, how easy it is to use and how often it runs.
About seven out of 10 said they were relatively happy with their city's public transport, but some cities did better than others.
The cities with the worst results were the Italian cities of Palermo and Rome. Just 22% of people in Palermo and 29% in Rome said they were satisfied with their public transport.
In Rome, one of Europe's most popular cities with tourists, about 58% of residents use a car on a normal day. That's higher than the European average, and one of the reasons may be unreliable public transport.
According to the Rome Vacation Tips website, public transport in the city is cheap but slow and not very reliable — there are frequent strikes and delays.
However, only 5% of Rome's residents cycle every day — the lowest number of all the cities surveyed.
The people of Zurich were the happiest with their public transport, with 95% saying they were satisfied with it.
Vienna, Rotterdam and Helsinki all did well too, and so did Oslo and Prague.
