Free rail travel to remain for all regular users of Renfe's local and medium-distance trains in Spain after current scheme ends on 31 December
Spanish government public transport discounts will continue to be available to the whole population and not just young people and the unemployed, as had been previously announced by PM Sánchez
The new anti-crisis aid package presented by Spain's PM Pedro Sánchez includes, as one of the star measures, the maintenance of the discounts for public transport that have been so successful.
According to sources close to the negotiations between political parties PSOE and Sumar, the aid will remain the same as it has been up to now, for the entire population.
A few weeks ago, the prime minister himself had said that from 1 January, discounted travel would only be available to minors, young people and the unemployed, and not to all regular users of public transport as was the case until 31 December, but the negotiations with Sumar have changed this plan.
Free rail travel for regular passengers will remain on Renfe's local 'Cercanías' and 'Media Distancia' train services, as at present. And, since the metro and urban bus services are the responsibility of the regions, the national government will continue to allocate 30% of the cost to the regions to reduce them which the regional authorities will top up to 50%.
This point of the decree law approved this Wednesday was one of the most hotly debated between the socialist wing of the government and Sumar. It should be remembered that the government already included an allocation of 1.44 billion euros in its 2024 Budget plan for subsidising public transport, so the spending allocated would be around that figure.
