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The days of free government-subsidised travel cards for public transport in Spain are numbered. Back in September 2022, the national Ministry of Transport put in force an extraordinary measure, aiming to encourage people to return to public transport after the Covid-19 pandemic, by subsidising the season tickets of Renfe's Cercanías (short-distance) and medium-distance trains. The measure, which will be removed on 1 July, also includes the 50% discount on EMT and Consorcio buses, as well as the metro services.
As mentioned, all of this will change in a few weeks. Spain's railway operator Renfe has just announced the new Cercanías fares, which will also be subsidised by the state, albeit to a lesser extent. From 1 July onwards, part of the pass will have to be paid by the passenger. The monthly pass - the most popular - will cost 20 euros. It can be purchased through the usual channels up to ten days before its first use and will be valid for all zones, in all areas.
There will also be a youth monthly pass, which can be purchased by young people from 15 to 26 years of age. The price for this card will be 10 euros. Children under the age of 15 will travel for free and their pass will be valid until the end of the year.
As for those who only use the train occasionally, a ten-trip pass will be available. The price will depend on the zones within the specific area that the user wants to travel to. The advantage of this pass is that it is not personalised and can be shared by two or more people. The validity will be one year from the date of purchase.
The free travel cards have more than fulfilled their mission. Not only has the use of public transport recovered, after a period of drastic decline due to fears of the spread of the coronavirus, but the two commuter lines in Malaga province (C1 and C2) also broke all-time passenger records last year, with 17,128,000 passengers (the vast majority of them on the Costa line, although the Guadalhorce valley services¡ has also risen sharply). This is an increase of 6.6% compared to 2023, which had already been the best year since its inauguration, according to data from the Ministry of Transport (16.06 million).
Regular Cercanías user Francisco Moya is an active supporter of the public service and he considers the new measure to be reasonable, with affordable prices. "I used to get an unlimited pass from Montemar Alto to Malaga, which was zone-dependent. This meant that it didn't cover a trip to Fuengirola and it cost me 54 euros. Now, however, for 20 euros a month I can go from Malaga to Fuengirola, to any zone along the route, without restrictions," he said.
Moya believes that the new price both values the service offered and respects people's financial ability to pay. "The prices seem fine to me, they are quite reasonable and not excessive compared to what they used to be before," he said. The only thing Moya would like to see is a travel pass for the elderly, similar to the one for young people. He also warned that the new fares penalise occasional train users, since the ten-journey pass will be tied to specific routes and won't allow travel across the entire line, "and the more zones you cross, the more expensive it will be".
The government's new plan of special subsidies for public transport will also cover Malaga's EMT buses. Last year, bus transport in the city also reached a historic milestone of more than 50 million passengers. According to the new regulations, children up to the age of 14 will travel for free from 1 July onwards, with subsidies provided by the Ministry of Transport. It is estimated that there will be 75,000 beneficiaries of the measure, which was presented on Tuesday by Malaga city mayor Francisco de la Torre, mobility councillor Trinidad Hernández and EMT manager Miguel Ruiz.
The same will apply to Malaga's metro. According to the Junta de Andalucía regional government, metro transport will also be free of charge for young people. The regional minister of public works, Rocío Díaz, announced this measure along with the continuation of additional subsidies for all public transport users in Andalucía.
In this case, there will be three types of discounts, two of them for young people. In addition to the free fare for children under 14 years of age, there will be a 50% discount for those under 30 years of age, as long as they have the youth transport card issued by the regional government (Junta de Andalucía). An additional discount will still apply to all users of the Andalusian consortium cards, metro passes and inter-city multi-journey passes. The discount is 40% as of 1 July (20% from the user's department in question and the other 20% from the Ministry of Transport).
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