Dublin, London, Amsterdam, and Paris are among Europe’s most expensive and complicated capital cities to purchase public transport tickets, a new ranking by environmental group Greenpeace has found.

The rankings were led by Luxembourg city, the Maltese capital of Valletta, and the Estonian capital of Tallinn, all of which scored the highest possible grade thanks to their offer of free public transport.

The study, released Wednesday (4 May), examined the cost and ease of purchasing public transport journeys across 30 European nations. In addition to cities, the green NGO ranked countries on their public transport ticketing.

Boosting access to affordable public transport would “reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and our greenhouse gas emissions, improve the quality of our environment and help people cope with rising energy prices,” the study notes.

Four criteria were used in the ranking:

• The simplicity of the ticketing system, such as whether the ticket covers differing public transport modes and applies across regions
• The price and availability of long-term tickets
• Discounts provided for socially disadvantaged groups, such as students, the elderly, and the unemployed
• The VAT rate applied to tickets

Bulgaria placed at the bottom of the 30-country table, with Croatia 29th, followed by Greece, Norway, and Latvia.

Luxembourg and Malta, both nations with less than a million inhabitants that offer free public transport, placed first and second place respectively.

Despite the poor standing of the Irish capital, the island nation fared better as a whole, reaching 13th position.

Bottom of the list

In addition to price, which was determined to be the second-highest behind London, Dublin was penalised for lacking a monthly public transport ticket that applies to all transport modes.

While monthly subscriptions for buses, trams, and trains are available, they must be purchased separately.

Amsterdam, often held up as a green example, failed to impress in the rankings, reaching 28th position, the second-lowest EU city. The Dutch capital was criticised for the high yearly ticket price, which stands at €1001.

The study authors also noted that while the carers of people with disabilities can travel for free in Amsterdam, those with disabilities cannot.

The French capital, 27th on the list, lost points for its annual ticket price (€925), and long-term tickets being solely available for the larger Île-de-France region, rather than riders being provided with a cheaper option for the Paris municipality alone.

Bulgaria failed to score any points in the country rankings, while Croatia and Greece scored only two points each.

Bulgaria and Croatia were criticised for applying the standard VAT rate to public transport tickets, the same rate the study authors pointed out, applied to luxury goods.

Croatia’s points were awarded for a pilot project offering free transport for primary and secondary school pupils and providing Ukrainian refugees with free train travel.

Beyond a temporary VAT reduction on public transport tickets, Greece was said to have failed to offer “anything else relevant to get points in this ranking”.

However, Athens, which ranked 9th in the city rankings, was commended for offering unemployed people free travel.

Top of the list

Besides cities that have waived costs completely, the Czech capital boasts the cheapest public transport ticket of the European capital cities analysed.

Prague’s annual ticket cost of €156.62 helped the city score 98 points.

However, there is a catch: This low price is reserved for locals, with non-residents required to fork out €334.69 for a yearly ticket.

The Slovak capital of Bratislava, which has an annual ticket price of €199, scored 91 points.

Students, the elderly, and people with disabilities are given a 50% discount. Reflecting its emergence from behind the Iron Curtain, the country offers free travel to former political prisoners and anti-communist resistance fighters.

Austria took bronze in the country rankings thanks mainly to the introduction of a “climate ticket”, which applies to all means of public transport across the nation. However, Greenpeace took issue with the €3 per day price tag, arguing that it is “not affordable for all”.

Germany introduced a €49 per month public transport ticket on Monday (1 May) and was praised as “paving the way for climate tickets in Europe”.

Germany launches €49 public transport ticket with different regional rules

A monthly subscription ticket at the price of €49 per month for all regional public transport, including local buses, trams, and trains, will be introduced in May, with regions being left to handle rebates for students or the unemployed.

Last summer, …

‘Climate tickets’

Greenpeace is calling on European governments to introduce cheap public transport tickets that cover all forms of mass travel across Europe to cut transport emissions. This will help Europe, it is argued, to meet its climate targets whilst bolstering connectivity.

EU institutions should help to prepare such a ticket, with the European Commission providing guidance.

“Governments must introduce simple and affordable ‘climate tickets’ for public transport, to cut people’s bills and to reduce the oil use driving our planet towards climate disaster,” said Lorelei Limousin, Greenpeace EU transport campaigner.

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