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Spain’s discounted transport scheme launched in 2022 to help people deal with the rise in inflation after the pandemic and was due to expire on December 31st, but it is now set to be extended for another six months.
Initially the government said that free regional train travel and transport reductions would only continue for certain people such as young people, those with low income and commuters, but now the current conditions will continue until June 2025 after a last-minute agreement with Podemos on Thursday December 19th.
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This means that Cercanías, Rodalies and Media Distancia trains will continue be free – provided a total of 16 journeys are made within three months like before.
The 50 percent discounts on Avant trains for frequent users will also still be in force. Services between Murcia and Alicante, and Avant between Ourense and A Coruña, will be completely free in 2025, as will journeys between Madrid and Salamanca.
The discount on the price of transport passes for those travelling by metro and bus in certain cities will also remain the same. In this case, the central government’s contribution of 30 percent of the price of season tickets will stay the same as long as each region contributes at least another 20 percent. This raises the discount to a minimum of 50 percent.
Some regional governments such as Madrid raised it to 60 percent, providing a regional discount of 30 instead of 20 percent.
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In addition, the 100 percent bonus on multi-trip bus passes remains in force. Like the regional trains, users must purchase a ticket for each calendar quarter of the year and make at least 16 trips during the time in order to get their deposit back.
The annual cost of public transport bonuses is €1.47 billion for the State, along with contributions of €420 million from other administrations.
A recent report by the public engineering company Ineco showed that the aid helped to bolster both rail and bus travel in Spain. And the INE family budget survey showed that from 2019 to 2023 the average household transportation costs decreased by 2.8 percent.
It’s not yet clear what will happen after June, but it’s likely that train discounts will remain in place for young people, the most vulnerable and frequent users.