In four large cities 18 % of passenger kilometres are travelled by travelling sustainably

According to the data of population survey carried out in 2021 by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB), in the functional urban areas¹ of four Latvian cities – Riga, Jelgava, Liepāja and Daugavpils – in 2021 sustainable mobility accounted for 18 % of passenger-kilometres². Sustainable mobility includes public transport, walking, cycling, car-sharing and using electric micromobility devices.

In terms of passenger-kilometres, travelling by passenger cars dominates in these Latvian cities (76.2 % in 2017 and 81.6 % in 2021). Walking has increased between 2017 and 2021 (5.7 % in 2017 and 6.8 % in 2021), which is beneficial both for the overall health of population and for the impact on the urban environment.

During the pandemic, both public transport (15.4 % in 2017 and 9.1 % in 2021) and cycling (1.5 % in 2017 and 1.4 % in 2021) declined, while new travel modes such as car-sharing and use of electric micromobility devices (less than 1 % of passenger-kilometres) emerged.

In 2021, an average of 31.1 km per day were travelled by car in the functional urban areas of Riga, Jelgava, Liepāja and Daugavpils, and 15.8 km – by public transport. Walking and cycling in 2021 comprised an average of 3.2 km and 11.5 km per day.

Mobility week is the European Commission's annual awareness-raising campaign on sustainable urban mobility, which aims to promote a change in public behaviour towards active mobility, public transport and other sustainable mobility modes and transport solutions.

With more and more cities participating each year, the campaign is widely recognised as a driving force for sustainable urban mobility in Europe and beyond. This year it will take place from September 16-22.

In 2017 and 2021, the CSB randomly surveyed Latvian population on their mobility behaviour and modes of transport used. Both surveys were co-funded by the EU grant project Passenger Mobility and Road Transport Statistics.

¹ According to the joint OECD-EU definition, a functional urban area consists of a densely inhabited city and a less densely populated commuting zone whose labour market is highly integrated with the city. In 2021, these areas included Riga, Jelgava, Liepāja and Daugavpils.

² A passenger-kilometre (pkm) is the unit of measurement representing the passenger transport carried by a particular mode of transport by multiplying the measured kilometres by the total number of passengers in a passenger car or on a particular mode of transport.

Media requests:
Communication Section
E-mail: media@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366621, +371 27880666

More information on data:
Transport and Tourism Statistics Section
Agnese Šaltene
E-mail: Agnese.Saltene@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 6736660