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Ranked: the European cities with the most sustainable public transport

The volume of electric vehicles, buses, charging stations and bike-rental companies was compared against each places’ pollution levels

Liv Kelly
Written by
Liv Kelly
Contributing Writer
London Underground at night
Photograph: Alena Veasey / Shutterstock.com
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Big, big changes need to be made if we’re to stop the planet from scorching, but as individuals, potentially the easiest change we can all make is by opting for public transport as often as we can. 

Plenty of cities all over the world have excellent public transport networks, from Montreal to Beijing – you can read about the very best ones here – but where in Europe can brag the loudest about its sustainability? 

According to Smart City Expo, transportation accounts for 72 percent of CO2 emissions, with cars amassing 60 percent of this. By analysing the number of electric vehicles on the roads, electric buses, charging points, bike rental companies and the length of the cities bike lanes compared to the pollution levels, Smart City Expo have come up with a list of European cities with the greenest transport networks. Claiming the top spot is London!

The UK capital has a whopping 80,000 electric vehicles on its roads, and 1,397 electric buses (with the city aiming to have the entire fleet zero-emission by 2034). What’s more, the city has only moderate pollution levels, despite being one of the largest in Europe. 

In second place it was Amsterdam, which has more bikes than cars on its roads, as well as 13,000 charging stations, and in third place it was Vienna, which has 1,300 km of bike lanes and an array of transport types including subways, trams and buses. Read on for the full list of cities that are bossing their public transport right now. 

The cities with the greenest public transport

  1. London
  2. Amsterdam
  3. Vienna
  4. Berlin
  5. Helsinki
  6. Paris
  7. Oslo
  8. Andorra
  9. Brussels
  10. Luxembourg

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