Car or bus in Cyprus? Car is cheaper and faster on this route.

Rising fuel prices should theoretically encourage Cypriots to use public transport. However, the actual calculation of the daily commute from Lakatamia to central Nicosia shows otherwise. For an economy car, the cost of petrol alone is approximately 10 euros per month less than the price of a monthly bus pass.

An even greater difference concerns time. In this case, bus travel, including walking to bus stops, takes almost 10 hours more per month than driving. The calculations don't even take into account waiting for a bus. This illustrates why, despite repeated fuel price increases, islanders are still reluctant to give up their cars.

Car or Bus in Cyprus? A Specific Calculation

The comparison is for a daily journey from Lakatamia to central Nicosia and back. The total distance is approximately 22 kilometers per day.

An economical city car consuming 7 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers in city traffic will burn about 1.54 liters of fuel per day on this route. At a gasoline price of €1.70 per liter, this translates to an expenditure of about €2.62.

When you multiply this amount by 22 working days, the monthly fuel cost is approximately 57.60 eurosMeanwhile, a 30-day bus ticket on a personalized Motion card costs 66.90 euros.

Direct costs favor a car

In the described case the monthly difference is approximately 9.30 euros for the benefit of the car.

It's important to note, however, that this comparison only covers the cost of gasoline. It doesn't take into account insurance, servicing, tires, repairs, tolls, or depreciation.

From the perspective of someone who already owns a car and is only concerned about how much they'll spend on commuting in a given month, fuel remains the most important expense. From this perspective, a bus isn't always cheaper.

Almost 10 hours difference per month

The bus ride itself doesn't take significantly longer than driving. The morning commute takes about 22 minutes, and the afternoon return takes about 30 minutes. That's a total of 52 minutes per day.

The average bus journey takes about 27.5 minutes each way, or 55 minutes per day. At this point, the difference is just three minutes.

However, getting to the stop and walking from the final stop to your workplace is a challenge. In this case, this means an additional 24 minutes of walking per day, extending the entire journey to at least 79 minutes.

The difference is about 27 minutes per day. Over 22 business days, this adds up to 9 hours and 54 minutes of extra time spent commuting by bus.

Importantly, this is the best possible scenario. The calculation assumes the passenger arrives at the bus stop exactly before the bus arrives. Any delay or longer wait increases the difference.

The app helps, but it doesn't shorten the route

Passengers can reduce waiting times with the Pame app. It shows the estimated arrival time of the bus, allows you to track the vehicle on a map, and helps plan routes and transfers.

The app improves travel predictability, but does not solve problems related to distance to stops, frequency of services and the lack of direct connections.

Cyprus remains car-dependent

Eurostat data demonstrates the scale of the problem. In 2024, Cyprus had 661 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants. The EU average was 578 cars.

At the same time, a staggering 85% of Cypriots aged 16 and over said they never used public transport. Across the European Union, this figure was 50.6%.

Only 4.5% of the island's population used public transport daily. The EU average was 10.7%.

Therefore, it's not enough to raise fuel prices to get residents to switch to buses. Public transport must be competitive in terms of price, frequency, accessibility of stops, reliability, and total travel time.

Fuels will also be charged with emission costs

An additional challenge will be the launch of the EU's ETS2 system, which covers fuels used in road transport and building heating, among other things. The system is expected to be fully operational in 2028.

This doesn't mean drivers will be required to purchase emissions allowances directly. The obligation will be placed on fuel suppliers, but some of the new costs may be passed on to retail prices.

This makes creating a viable alternative to the car all the more important. If the bus remains more expensive on a monthly basis and requires additional hours of driving, many residents will still choose to drive their own car – even with petrol costing over €1.70 per liter.

Sources: Politis, Cyprus Public Transport, Eurostat, European Commission