How safe is public transport compared to private transport?

Using public transport is much safer than using private transport. When considering the number of registered road deaths per billion kilometres travelled in 2009-2017, the risk of sustaining fatal injuries is significantly higher for private transport (bicycle, (light) moped, motorcycle, car) than for public transport (see Table 1). At the same time, public transport vehicles do cause a relatively large number of serious injuries and road deaths among crash opponents (also see the question How many casualties are caused by public transport crashes?).

Table 1. The risk of fatal road injuries by mode of transport per billion kilometres travelled (2009 – 2017)[i] . Sources: Statistics Netherlands (mobility data) and BRON (registered road deaths).

For passengers, travelling by public transport is the safest option, although they do have to walk or cycle to and from a bus stop or station. Compared to driving, walking and cycling are relatively risky modes of transport. Sometimes, pedestrians are in a rush to catch a bus, cross the road too carelessly and get hit by a motorised vehicle [3].