The Netherlands has the most expensive transport services in Europe, according to European statistics agency Eurostat in a new analysis of the price of plane, train, tram and bus tickets, plus taxi charges.

Transport in the Netherlands is 35% more expensive than the European average, putting it top of the ranking, above Denmark and the UK, broadcaster RTL said. The figures were released in mid December and relate to 2017.

Delft University transport policy professor Bert van Wee told RTL that the price differences are largely due to the extent to which public transport is subsidised.

‘In Belgium, they want to stimulate the use of public transport by, for example, ensuring everyone has a bus stop within a couple of hundred metres,’ he said. ‘But that costs a lot of money.’

RTL also calculates that train season tickets are considerably cheaper in Belgium – €174 for a month’s travel between Antwerp and Ghent, compared with €371 for an Amsterdam The Hague ticket, which is a similar distance.

The cheapest EU transport services are in Bulgaria.