Spain has announced major plans to change the public transport system across the country. (Image: Getty)
Travel across for tourists is about to get much easier as Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, has announced plans to create a fixed-price public transport pass that will work across every corner of the country.
The all-purpose monthly transport pass will work for , buses, metros, trams and bicycles across Spain’s 17 regions from 2026.
Spain’s “billete único” will replace the current state-subsidised free and discounted train and bus tickets and is being compared to other European countries’ schemes, including Germany’s (£49) and Austria’s “climate ticket” (£67).
While the price for Spain’s potential “single pass” has not yet been announced, local media suggested it could cost somewhere between £25 and £41.
“The goal and the challenge is to implement the single ticket in Spain, something that Germany has, with its advantages and disadvantages, which will allow us to learn from it,” Puente said on Thursday at an event at the Nueva Economía Fórum.
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A state-subsidised ticket already exists in Madrid. (Image: Getty)
This new scheme will likely be seen as good news to all tourists set on exploring the country’s best destinations in 2025, which is set to after a record-breaking 94 million foreigners last year.
A similar ticket already exists in the capital, , where for a currently state-subsidised price of £27.45 a month you can take all public transport within the region, including Renfe commuter trains, although medium-distance and high-speed trains are not included. Without the discount, this ticket costs £69.26.
Spain’s current train and bus discounts will apply during the first half of 2025, but from July the discount will be reduced.
The government first introduced these measures in 2022 in an attempt to lessen the effects of inflation following the pandemic and war in .
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Puente hopes the transition will make public transport easier and of better quality. (Image: Getty)
“I hope that in 2026 we will transition to that measure that allows for a better distribution of resources, making it easier for transport users,” added Puente, “but above all helps us focus our efforts on the quality of public transport”.
The biggest obstacle to the nationwide implementation of the scheme is due to the fact that the Transport Ministry only owns the Cercanías commuter train services and regional, medium and long-distance trains.
The rest of the country’s public transport network is managed either by city councils or by consortia that have agreements with regional governments.