A total of 537 million public-transport journeys were made in a year, according to new figures.

The Transport Scotland statistics showed that 76% of the 2015/16 journeys were made by bus, 17% by rail, 5% by air and 2% by ferry.

Passengers using ScotRail services made 93.2 million journeys, an increase of 0.5% from 2014/15.

The figures also showed that over the past five years air and rail passengers as well as car and cycle traffic have increased, but the number of bus and ferry passengers have fallen.

There were 25.5 million air passengers at Scottish airports in 2015, an increase of 6% on the previous year.

Ferry services, meanwhile, were used by 9.5 million passengers in 2015, with 7.8 million passengers using routes within Scotland.

Passenger numbers, statisticians said, have seen slight decreases over the year.

The figures bring together statistics published in the last year by Transport Scotland and the Department for Transport.

They show that a total of 2.9 million motor vehicles were registered in Scotland in 2015 and 83% of all vehicle registrations were cars.

A distance of 45.4 billion vehicle kilometres was travelled on Scottish roads in the same period, which was a slight increase on the previous year.

Cycle traffic, meanwhile, decreased in 7% in distance travelled to 342 million vehicle kilometres during 2015 when the most recent statistics were measured.

Mike Rumbles, transport spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said: "The number of people using buses has dropped dramatically, as has the number of buses and journeys available to people.

"That means more traffic on our roads, less investment in public transport and missed targets on climate change.

"The Scottish Government either are intentionally misleading the public or have no idea of the reality of public transport in Scotland.

"We need action and real investment now in our bus and rail services so that we have infrastructure fit for the 21st century."

John Finnie MSP, transport spokesman for the Scottish Greens, said: "What's made clear by these statistics is the Scottish Government's continued emphasis on promoting private car use at the expense of public transport.

"Perhaps it's little wonder that there has been a steady decline in bus use throughout Scotland, given how many of us have come to expect long waits for delayed and non-existent buses and how poorly services here compare with other cities in the UK and Europe.

"The re-regulation of buses would stop companies cherry-picking profitable routes and leaving communities stranded.

"The rise in car use, particularly for journeys to work, illustrates how unlikely the Scottish Government is to reach the target of 10% of all journeys by bike by 2020.

"Our communities desperately need safe streets for walking and cycling, an ambition that can be supported by making 20mph the default speed limit in residential areas."

A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Government is committed to improving bus services and the workings of the current regulatory framework through partnerships with bus operators and local transport authorities.

"We are concerned about the decline in bus patronage, something which has been continuing since at least the 1960s, well before de-regulation began in the mid-1980s.

"However, it is important to note that the decline is not seen in all areas.

"Indeed, some areas of Scotland have shown growth over the last five years whereas others see double figures in terms of percentage of decline.

"That is why the solution must be local.

"This Government will bring forward a Transport Bill that will give local authorities the framework to work in partnership with bus operators to improve services.

"Whilst we have no plans for wholesale re-regulation, we do want to see more people using our public transport networks."