Transport: EU Publications

Key figures on European transport presents a selection of key transport indicators. The first two chapters start with a presentation of transport measurement, providing information on the movement of people and goods by land, water and air transport modes. The third chapter looks at transport safety, again presenting information for various transport modes. The fourth chapter combines information on transport, the environment and energy. The final chapter looks at a range of economic indicators, such as employment in the transport sector, transport prices, and expenditure on transport.

Transport represents a crucial sector of the economy. This publication provides an overview of the most recent and most pertinent annual transport-related statistics in Europe. It covers the European Union and its 27 Member States (EU-27) and, as far as possible, the current EU candidate countries, the EFTA countries and UK. As in the reference period (1990-2020), UK was part of the European Union, aggregates for EU-28 are presented whenever possible for the period when UK was an EU Member State.

The multi-thematic statistical book Energy, transport and environment statistics comprises a broad set of data collected by Eurostat. It presents the EU’s main indicators for energy, transport and environment that support the design and monitoring of EU policies. The publication provides data for the European Union and its Member States, while some indicators include also data for the EFTA countries, and candidate countries and potential candidates to the EU.

Urban areas are the centre of economic and societal activity in the European Union (EU). Currently they are the home of 70.9% of the EU population with this number expected to grow to 83.7% by 2050. As a result of the high concentration of people and their important economic role, urban areas are a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Transport contributes to this significantly with cities generating 23% of all EU transport related GHG emissions. While the situation differs across the EU, a large share of cities struggles with poor air quality. For example, 15% of the EU urban population was exposed to concentrations of PM10 (particulate matter with a diameter of 10 μm or less) above EU standard in 2020.

This Handbook represents the first comprehensive overview of conceptual and practical issues related the compilation of statistics on sea and air transport in national accounts (NA) and balance of payments (BOP). Estimating the contribution of the use of vessels and aircraft to national economies is challenging due to the complexity of shipping and aviation business models and infrastructure. However, statistical institutions and data users have increasingly recognised the need for comprehensive, reliable and internationally available information on sea and air transport in NA and BOP. The purpose of this handbook is to increase and improve existing understanding of economic activities in shipping and aviation.

The benefits of a reduction in the use of private cars in terms of reducing urban congestion and noise, improving air quality, increasing road safety, and in general, providing benefits for the public in terms of health and quality of life, are well known by the authorities. For decades, European awareness-raising actions to reduce the use of private cars have been carried out, promoted by initiatives such as the European Mobility Week, the CIVITAS Initiative or institutional bodies such as POLIS, ECF, Eurocities, etc. There have also been numerous actions conducted in cities of a more individual nature, promoted through the local or national policies of each Member State.

This updated Handbook on external costs of transport has been developed in the study ‘Sustainable Transport Infrastructure Charging and Internalisation of Transport Externalities’ commissioned by the European Commission DG MOVE, by a consortium led by CE Delft. The objective of this study is to assess the extent to which the ‘user pays’ and the ‘polluter pays’ principles are implemented in EU Member States and in other developed countries. This will allow DG MOVE to take stock of the progress of Member States towards the goal of full internalisation of external (and infrastructure) costs of transport and to identify options for further internalisation.

The briefing provides an overview on the state of play and trends of urban transport since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines four scenarios, the prevalence of one or the other depending on the priorities established by policy makers and service providers. The briefing delivers general recommendations for a post-COVID-19 smart and sustainable urban transport and a set of desirable actions on how to integrate EU response into existing policy priorities.

This report is one of the visible results of the Agency’s activities in monitoring safety performance. It is also part of the Agency’s effort to provide to its stakeholders a thorough overview of the development of railway safety and interoperability in the European Union. In accordance with EU legislation, it has been published by the Agency on a biennial basis since 2006.

The liberalisation of the European air transport market has generated significant benefits for consumers: a wider choice of air services and intense price competition between air carriers, which has resulted in significantly lower fares. To limit any potential negative impacts that this might have on the quality of service delivered to air passengers and consumers, a number of measures have been taken at European Union (EU)-level to protect them. The most significant of these, Regulation (EC) 261/2004, introduced rules on compensation and assistance in the event of denied boarding, cancellations, long delays and involuntary downgrading. A number of other key legislative texts provide a European framework for the establishment and protection of passenger rights for air travellers.