Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams announced a significant growth in passenger numbers, recording a combined 131.5m customer journeys across the Edinburgh region in 2025.
These figures represent a continued recovery and growing confidence in the city’s public transport network, following disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lothian Buses recorded 119m journeys last year, a 2.6 per cent increase from 2024, while Edinburgh Trams carried 12.5m passengers, an increase of 3.3 per cent. The growth signals a strong recovery compared with pandemic-era figures.
Transport and Environment Convenor, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, welcomed the figures, saying:
For many residents, buses remain an essential part of daily life, particularly for students.
Anna Sutherland, a third-year student at the University of Edinburgh, uses the bus every day to travel to work, university, and see friends.
She said she feels “very lucky,” to live centrally where services are frequent, but added that she would use the tram regularly if it were more affordable.
Another third-year student at the university, Lucia D’Alessio, described the bus network as “a blessing.” Despite having noted occasional delays he added: “I genuinely believe it’s one of the best public transport systems in any country I’ve visited.”
Edinburgh College student Grace Gillespie echoed a similar sentiment, saying: “I love my bus pass!”
Prior to the pandemic, public transport use in the capital was already high.
In 2018, Edinburgh Trams recorded over 7.3m journeys, while Lothian Buses saw passenger numbers rise from 109m to 124m in the decade leading up to 2019.
The latest figures suggest that Edinburgh’s bus and tram services have recovered from the pandemic and continue to play a central role in how people move around the city.
Photo by Max Brown for The Student.