Leading mobility infrastructures

The Basque Country has important mobility infrastructures. Compared to European Union countries, the Basque Country's indices are some of the highest both in density of vehicles and kilometres of motorways, as well as rail electrification. (Note*)

By location and activity

The geostrategic location of the Basque Country means that for centuries our territory has been a land that people passed through and an entryway both for the continent and the peninsular. Currently, it assumes a significant volume of traffic both from travellers and goods moving round the European Union. The fact that it is situated on the Atlantic coast and its relative proximity to Mediterranean ports means that our territory houses a concentration of infrastructures and activities related to transport and mobility.

In addition, its important industrial activity, exporting to a large extent, as well as its high standard of living, has facilitated building local infrastructures and a boom in private vehicles.

Vehicles Individual vehicle rate in the Basque Country and in Europe Union

In the Basque Country, there are 579 vehicles on the road for every 1000 inhabitants, a similar rate to

Greece (580), France (576), Germany (575) or Switzerland (573), exceeding the European average (EU-27, 538) and taking tenth place in the European ranking.

Motorways Motorway network density in Basque Country and European Union

The density of the Motorway network (high speed roads) is also one of the highest, occupying fifth place in the European ranking, along with Belgium (58 km), Slovenia (38 km) or Germany (35 km). It is far from the European average (EU-27, 15.6 km) or levels from other countries such as Austria (21 km), France (17 km) or the United Kingdom (15 km).

Rail electrification

Rail electrification has a long history in the Basque Country. This has made it one of the territories with the highest rate of rail electrification, taking sixth place in the European ranking (41.61 km). Our rate is similar to Austria (44.86 km), the Czech Republic (40.68 km) and Italy (39.52km). However, in this field Belgium (100.37 km), Germany (57.40km) or the Netherlands (54.55km) all stand above us.

Notes for a badly structured territory

The indices we are presenting, as well as reflecting an industrial society, also indicate several aspects to be considered.  On the one hand there are its functional features, due to the fact that they largely follow European lines and do not aim to integrate our entire territory. On the contrary, this encompasses very wide areas where these services do not reach. On the other hand, there is its significant environmental cost to the extent in which we are becoming dependent on private vehicle transport travelling on high capacity roads and compromising public resources that could be used for more sustainable mobility integrating more of the territory.

Note: This text is purely informative, aiming to make it easier to read the data being presented. The text has been written by the Gaindegia technical team and does not reflect Udalbiltza's opinion.