Passenger Transport in Slovakia Continues to Grow, While Freight Declines in Q3 2025

The Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic has released new quarterly data showing contrasting developments in the country’s transport sector during the third quarter of 2025. Passenger transport continued its upward trend across most modes, while freight transport recorded another significant decline.

According to the report, passenger transport increased by 7.7% year-on-year, reaching 179.3 million people. Public transport providers — including urban, suburban and long-distance bus services — carried more than 121 million passengers, almost 10% more than in the same period last year. Suburban and long-distance buses transported nearly 35 million people, a rise of 5.2% compared with 2024. Rail transport, however, saw a slight decrease, falling by 0.5% to 18.7 million passengers.

Transport performance, measured in passenger-kilometres, also strengthened. Travellers covered a total of 3.5 billion kilometres in the quarter, representing a 12.9% increase. This was driven in particular by higher demand for longer-distance bus transport, which grew by 16.3%. For the first nine months of 2025 as a whole, the total number of transported passengers rose by 5.2%, while overall transport performance increased by 12.6%.

In contrast, freight transport continued to weaken. Slovakia moved 51.3 million tons of goods in the third quarter, a year-on-year decline of 6.4% and the sixth consecutive quarterly decrease. Freight performance fell to 8.6 billion ton-kilometres, down 6.8% from 2024. Rail freight registered the sharpest drop, with ton-kilometres falling by 16.1%. Road freight also declined by 4.4%, while other modes — including water, air and pipeline transport, as well as warehousing and support services — collectively dropped by more than 45%.

For the January–September period, freight volume declined by 7.1% and freight performance by 8.6% compared with last year. The figures suggest that while mobility among the population continues to recover and expand, the freight sector remains under pressure amid weaker industrial and trade activity. The Statistical Office will continue to monitor these trends in upcoming quarterly releases.