Pedro Sánchez announces a monthly pass for traveling on public transport throughout the country

Madrid / BarcelonaSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced during his year-end review before Christmas that a travel pass for public transport throughout Spain will be available starting in 2026. The announcement, which had already been hinted at months earlier by Transport Minister Óscar Puente, comes just days before the end of the year and, therefore, before transport fares are set to increase, following a lengthy political debate about the appropriateness of widespread reductions in train tickets. The pass will cost €60 per month for general travelers and €30 per month for young people up to 26 years old. The plan is for it to come into effect in the second half of January. However, the details of this new transport pricing system are still unclear: for example, what role the autonomous communities will play or how the system will be structured. Avant prices (high-speed trains but regulated at public prices that are also overflowing in Catalonia)

Sánchez has announced that the details will be made public at the last cabinet meeting of the year, which is expected to be on December 23. At that time, the Spanish government will publish a royal decree-law that, in addition to extending current subsidies for public transport, will include this new "single" pass for "the entire country," which will cover medium-distance trains, commuter rail, and the national bus service. The Spanish president gave the example that a worker who commutes daily from Vigo to Santiago or Jerez to Seville could save up to almost 60% of their monthly public transport expenses.

"We're talking about 2 million people who will find it easier to get to work or home each month, and also in their daily lives," Sánchez added. "It's a very strong commitment to sustainable mobility and also to the middle and working classes," he insisted. Furthermore, Sánchez called on the autonomous communities and local entities to join the initiative and facilitate "affordable access to public transport throughout the country."

Awaiting the increases and reductions

The Spanish government's announcement comes just days before the end of the year, and while the fare increase for next year and the final status of transport discounts—introduced to offset the price hikes triggered by the start of the war in Ukraine—remain uncertain. At this point, only one discount is guaranteed: the T-Joven youth travel card, which will maintain its 50% discount, fully funded by the state. The rest depends on negotiations between the government and the Ministry of Transport, and the percentage of the discount the Ministry offers to finance. This was explained a few weeks ago by the Catalan Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque. "It's a dialogue that always takes place at the end of the year. We hope to have it finalized before December 31st," Paneque explained. For their part, ERC and Comuns are already pressuring the Catalan government, asking it to maintain the current 50% discounts—30% of which is provided by the central government, and the remainder by regional and local administrations. Paneque explained that her department supports updating prices based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to guarantee the system's financial sustainability. What users pay currently represents a third of the total cost of public transport. In fact, just a few days ago, the government approved financing agreements with public administrations and program contracts with private and public transport operators worth €106.9 million "to cover the system's operational needs," added sources from the Department of Territory. At the same time, the government is in favor of maintaining discounts for certain groups, such as young people and the unemployed. "We need to see what decision we make regarding this co-financing model with the ministry," the minister stated. It should be noted that the Generalitat is under scrutiny from the Treasury for having exceeded the spending rule limit. something that limits the Government's margin of decision on this point. For all these reasons, Paneque urged a "reflection" on the need to guarantee the sustainability of the system if better and more frequent public transport is desired. Thus, as Pedro Sánchez announced this Monday, details about the fare reductions will be released starting next week. Both ERC and Comuns, partners in Salvador Illa's investiture, are pressuring and warning that maintaining the discounts on the T-Joven, T-Usual, and T-16 (which is free) is a demand they are putting on the executive's table. Last year, the reduction in transport prices sparked one of the first major clashes between the Spanish government and Junts: The council members overturned the omnibus decree which applied the discounts. Another had to be renegotiated, postponing the discounts for a few days. Shortly after the €20 flat rate for commuter rail was introduced, Users of medium-distance trains also protested They considered it a comparative injustice and forced the Government to rectify and extend the discounts.