UPPER and PTV, feel the Flows
The efficiency gap between transport modes is striking — and this visualization by project partner PTV Group makes it crystal clear. If cars require over 1 kilometer of road to move 200 people, while a tram needs only 197 meters, how can cities continue to grow sustainably without reconsidering how they use space?
@Simulating Traffic-Mode Efficiency PTV Vissim & Viswalk Product Demo
During the morning peak hours in Europe, achieving an average of 1.5 occupants per private vehicle would be considered highly desirable*, as transport studies often cite an average of around 1.2 occupants per car as a standard benchmark**. This reflects a relatively high level of carpooling and shared rides, which are still not universally common but are increasingly encouraged as a means of reducing congestion and emissions.
For public transportation, buses with capacities of 20 or 40 passengers—equating to roughly 20% occupancy—would represent an ideal scenario in terms of efficiency and comfort. However, during peak times, bus occupancy rates tend to be much higher, often approaching an average of 70%. This indicates that most buses are operating at or near their optimal capacity, with many vehicles reaching full occupancy during the busiest periods. The high utilization of transit services emphasizes the need for effective transit planning and highlights the potential advantages of expanding shared mobility options. This approach could improve traffic flow and promote environmental sustainability.
That’s why measuring and managing demand in public transport is more crucial than ever. Project partner PTV Group, supports cities and operators in making data-driven decisions with PTV Flows and PTV Lines — a powerful duo designed to optimize both real-time operations and long-term service planning, always centered on the ridership perspective.
PTV Flows delivers live ridership forecasts and monitoring for major operators across Europe — including BKK (Budapest), Carris (Lisbon), EMT (Valencia), Roma Servizi per la Mobilità (Rome), and Ruter (Oslo) — within the UPPER EU project. It supports mobility control centers with real-time simulation and mitigation strategy testing, ensuring efficiency even under fluctuating demand.
PTV Lines empowers planners to design and schedule services using ridership, population, and activity data. It enables lean, data-backed planning that aligns service levels with real demand patterns.
And for those who need to dive deeper:
PTV Vissim offers high-resolution, multimodal simulation, enabling the design of efficient stations and operations where public transport, cyclists, pedestrians, and cars interact seamlessly.
UPPER believes efficient cities aren’t just about moving vehicles — they’re about moving people smartly. Feel the Flows!
Learn more here
*Source: European Commission, "Shared Mobility," 2018, available at European Commission Mobility Reports. **Source: Eurostat, "Transport by mode and number of passengers," available at Eurostat Transport Data.
