ARCHIVED - Long-distance buses throughout Spain will be completely free in 2023
From January, multiple trip bus passes and tickets will be completely free in Spain
Long-distance buses join the Cercanías and Media Distancia trains in becoming completely free for regular users from January 2023. The move is part of a government initiative to reduce polluting emissions in Spain’s towns and cities while also easing the burden caused by rising inflation.
Currently, regular commuters can use the state-owned bus routes at a 50% discount, a measure which has been in force since September 1. As of January 1 though, passengers will be able to avail themselves of passes or tickets for 10, 20 or 30 trips, completely free of charge.
The state concession network of buses operates on many popular long-distance routes including Guadalajara-Madrid, Teruel-Barcelona and Gijón-León.
According to data from the Ministry of Transport, at the beginning of 2022 the bus network had a total of 4,088 stops dotted among 2,399 towns across 1,837 municipalities throughout Spain.
The buses will complement the measure already announced by the government to provide free rail transport for frequent travellers during 2023, although passengers will still have to pay a deposit of 20 euros which will be refunded if all of their passes are used.
Rail operators ran into some problems with the system from the get-go, with passengers booking several seats on different trains and forgetting to cancel them. This resulted in genuine travellers being unable to secure a ticket for their regular train, and the authorities have implemented a series of measures to reduce the impact.
According to the Ministry, the free train initiative will prevent the emission of one million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2023 while racking up an annual saving of between 1,800 and 3,000 euros for a family of four.
Image: @Alsa_autobuses
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