Travel across Spain for tourists is about to get much easier as Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, has announced plans to create a fixed-price public transport pass that will work across every corner of the country.
The all-purpose monthly transport pass will work for trains, buses, metros, trams and bicycles across Spain’s 17 regions from 2026.
Spain’s “billete único” will replace the current state-subsidised free and discounted train and bus tickets and is being compared to other European countries’ schemes, including Germany’s Deutschlandticket (£49) and Austria’s “climate ticket” (£67).
While the price for Spain’s potential “single pass” has not yet been announced, local media suggested it could cost somewhere between £25 and £41.
“The goal and the challenge is to implement the single ticket in Spain, something that Germany has, with its advantages and disadvantages, which will allow us to learn from it,” Puente said on Thursday at an event at the Nueva Economía Fórum.
This new scheme will likely be seen as good news to all tourists set on exploring the country’s best destinations in 2025, which is set to welcome even more tourists after a record-breaking 94 million foreigners last year.
A similar ticket already exists in the capital, Madrid, where for a currently state-subsidised price of £27.45 a month you can take all public transport within the region, including Renfe commuter trains, although medium-distance and high-speed trains are not included. Without the discount, this ticket costs £69.26.
Spain’s current train and bus discounts will apply during the first half of 2025, but from July the discount will be reduced.
The government first introduced these measures in 2022 in an attempt to lessen the effects of inflation following the pandemic and war in Ukraine.
“I hope that in 2026 we will transition to that measure that allows for a better distribution of resources, making it easier for transport users,” added Puente, “but above all helps us focus our efforts on the quality of public transport”.
The biggest obstacle to the nationwide implementation of the scheme is due to the fact that the Transport Ministry only owns the Cercanías commuter train services and regional, medium and long-distance trains.
The rest of the country’s public transport network is managed either by city councils or by consortia that have agreements with regional governments.
Airlines have issued urgent travel warnings as Storm Éowyn threatens to cause widespread disruption to UK flights in the coming days.Jet2 and Ryanair are both
A magical woodland walk in the Peak District has been named among the best to explore in the UK this January, according to a new study.Padley Gorge, on the east
Lost luggage can leave a traveller feeling worried sick about their belongings as they scramble pieces together to try and sort out a solution.Despite advanceme
The UK government is set to shake-up international travel as a new digital wallet app will soon be launched.This new app will allow UK citizens to easily store