Cercanías will no longer be free starting this July: these are the transport prices

BarcelonaIt's time to pay again: starting this Tuesday, July 1st, Renfe tickets will no longer be free across the country. The Spanish government is thus ending the massive discount policy it implemented three years ago due to the price spikes caused by the outbreak of the war, but some tickets are no longer free.

Users of the Cercanías service, for example, will now pay a flat rate of 20 euros. to make all the trips they want, unlimited, for a month. A new fare change, the fifth in a few months this year, which caused The indignation of Renfe medium-distance train users. The reason? The fact that the flat rate only affects commuter trains caused, according to user platforms, a comparative grievance with regional train passengers, who would have to pay up to five times more for just a few minutes longer journey time.

After the criticism, The Generalitat decided to rectify and the discount for medium-distance commuter train users was also increased. Thus, commuter train passengers will maintain the flat rate of 20 euros, and regional train passengers will receive a 60% discount (not 40%, as initially stated) on the regular price of their ticket. The regional minister, Silvia Paneque, clarified that this corrected the "injustice" in the comparison between regional train users and commuter train users.

The user associations and platforms that had protested the price difference between commuter train and regional train passengers welcomed the government's correction, but considered it insufficient.

The T-Casual and T-Usual trains maintain their prices and discounts until the end of the year.

Last January, the Metropolitan Transport Authority decided to raise integrated ticket fares in the Barcelona area by 3%, but at the same time decided to maintain the special 50% discounts. This June, the board of directors reaffirmed this decision. Thus, the T-Casual (which went from €12.15 in 2024 to €12.55 in 2025) and the T-Usual (which also increased by 65 cents year-over-year, to €22) remain at their prices until December. The T-Jove (Young) ticket, which went from €42.70 to €44, also maintains that price until the end of the year. The single ticket, which increased by 10 cents in January to €2.65 per trip, did not have any discounts, so it will also remain the same starting in July. The rest of the ATMs in Girona, Lleida, and Camp de Tarragona also followed the same increases and discounts as the one in Barcelona.

The new rates went into effect on January 15, 2025, but only a week later.The PP and Juntos vote against an omnibus law in Congress (which included, among other things, transport discounts and pension increases) caused the discounts to suddenly decline for a few days, and as of January 23, Cercanías (local trains) stopped being free. After a political back-and-forth, the discounts were reinstated. Thus, as of January 30, Renfe is free again, and integrated ATM tickets are also free. They can be purchased with the discount included (both the Catalan and Spanish sections), which leaves them at half their actual cost. Currently, prices for the different areas are:

The umpteenth plot twist

Discounts on bus, metro and Renfe tickets were launched in 2022 to address the energy crisis. The Generalitat (Catalan government) questioned these discounts from the outset and criticized them for being too generic (one-size-fits-all) rather than progressive (higher for vulnerable people and repeat users and lower for occasional passengers or those with higher incomes). Hence the Generalitat's decision to maintain the generalized discounts on the Catalan section It took the sector by surprise, because it represented an unexpected shift in the government's discourse. Until then The executive had repeatedly positioned itself on the line of withdrawing or reformulating These subsidies.

The same thing happened in Madrid. After months of considering the possibility of phasing out the discounts, the Ministry of Transport announced that it would finally maintain the discounts for another six months, until June 30. These are precisely the discounts that will finally lapse starting in July because they haven't been extended.

Taxi prices in Barcelona

The price of taxis has also been defined for 2025. The plenary session of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area approved a 4.7% increase in rates. Once the Generalitat (Catalan government) ratifies the new prices, the minimum rate will drop from the current 2.6 euros to 2.75 euros. The price per kilometer traveled will also increase, which will be 1.32 euros during weekdays (currently 1.25 euros), and 1.62 euros at night, on weekends, and on public holidays, instead of the current 1.56 euros. All other supplements remain unchanged.