Russians are significantly more likely to travel between cities by bus this summer.

This summer, Russians have become noticeably more likely to travel between cities by bus. From June to August, demand for intercity travel increased by 24.4 percent year on year, Kommersant reports.

Buses increased their share of popular travel modes by 4.8 percentage points. At the same time, relatively short routes turned out to be especially in demand. For trips lasting up to eight hours, demand increased by about a third.

Interest in bus travel has increased noticeably in the southern regions. For example, the number of bus trips to the Krasnodar Territory increased by 14.1 percent. In Sochi, demand for air travel decreased by 43.9 percent over the year, and some tourists chose ground transport. The dynamics were also affected by changes in the operation of airports and railway services.

An increase in interest in buses was also noticed in other popular tourist destinations, including St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, Karelia, Tatarstan, Moscow and the Moscow region.

According to experts, buses have become a particularly convenient option for traveling to small cities that are not always easy to reach by plane or train. This is helped by the development of online booking and roadside infrastructure.

At the same time, the average bill for a bus ticket this summer was 344 rubles, an increase of 17 percent over the year. At the same time, analysts note that demand growth is observed primarily in the European part of Russia.