- Hamburg's transit vehicles collect passenger count data.
Increased Use of Public Transport in Hamburg There's been a notable surge in individuals utilizing public transportation within Hamburg. This trend, notably on buses operated by Hochbahn and VHH, has seen a substantial rise, as reported by the city's transport authority.
"This year, 2023, marked a record for bus passengers in Hamburg," expressed Dennis Kraemer, representing the authority, to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Never before have so many individuals opted for bus travel within the HVV network."
Over 320 million riders
Last year, a total of 321 million passengers were recorded. For reference, in 2019, pre-COVID, the count was approximately 290 million.
This upward trend isn't exclusive to buses. Public transport options like U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and vhh.mobility have also seen an increase, Kraemer added. On average, over 2.7 million passengers were recorded on weekdays in May and June of this year. In April, the figure was near 2.8 million, about 200,000 more than the previous year.
"The aggressive expansion of services in recent times, the extension of peripheral connections via buses, as well as the expansion of Xpress bus services, coupled with the appealing HVV Germany ticket, have positively impacted demand for S-Bahn, Hochbahn, and VHH," said Kraemer.
More passenger-kilometers for buses and trains
Even at the 2023/2024 timetable modification, the number of passengers on buses and trains grew by approximately 450,000 to an average of 2.7 million daily during workdays. The U-Bahn saw an increase of 120,000, the S-Bahn by 79,000, and buses by 247,000 passengers.
Kraemer further stated that buses and trains have covered more kilometers this year compared to 2023. For instance, the U-Bahn traveled around 20,000 kilometers more in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023, the S-Bahn for approximately 100,000 kilometers, and buses for over 700,000 kilometers more.
The surge in public transportation usage in Hamburg has primarily been observed on buses operated by Hochbahn and VHH, as mentioned earlier. Many individuals prefer using buses within the HVV network, contributing to the record-breaking number of bus passengers in 2023.
In addition to the rise in bus travel, Dennis Kraemer highlighted that other public transport options, such as U-Bahn and S-Bahn, have also experienced an increase in passengers, with buses showing the most significant growth.
