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Francisco Jiménez
Malaga
Monday, 6 March 2023, 14:18
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Passengers will be able to use the same travel card on all local public transport services in Malaga and surrounding towns before the end of this year.
The local Cercanías train lines are to be added to the services already included in the card issued by the Malaga transport consortium (Consorcio de Transportes), which covers the city and 13 other nearby towns.
Currently, consortium cards can only be used for the local trains as a means of payment at ticket machines and the price is the same as the general fare.
In Cadiz province, however, a pilot scheme has been running since June, thanks to the agreement between the regional government, responsible for each province's transport consortium, and rail operator Renfe. There the train fares are the same as those of the rest of the local public transport.
Latest statistics for Malaga show that the consortium card was used 11.84 million times in 2022, while the Cercanías closed the year with 11.26 million travellers.
In order for the single travel card to be extended to the two Cercanías train lines (Malaga-Fuengirola and Malaga-Álora), the access turnstiles and ticket office and machines at all stations must first be adapted to enable the use of the consortium card.
As well as the incorporating the Cercanías rail service, the Malaga consortium wants to expand its coverage to all municipalities located less than an hour by road from Malaga city, within an area framed by Antequera, Marbella and Vélez-Málaga. They expect this will begin to materialise in the middle of this year, as Antequera, Fuengirola, Coín, Valle de Abdalajís and Riogordo join the city and 13 towns that are already part of this network (Malaga, Mijas, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Rincón de la Victoria, Alhaurín de la Torre, Alhaurín el Grande, Cártama, Pizarra, Almogía, Casabermeja, Colmenar, Totalán and Álora).
What does this mean for passengers? Firstly, a reduction in cost, with an average saving of 30% over a standard single fare journey. Secondly, the comfort of being able to use the transport card across multiple municipalities. At the moment, it includes local and interurban buses and the Malaga metro.
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