Oscar Puente on Thursday announced that his ministry is planning to transition from the current state-subsidised free and discounted train and bus tickets to an all-purpose monthly transport pass, which will work in all corners of the Spanish territory.
Whether it be to catch a bus in Seville, the tram in Zaragoza, the metro in Bilbao or a commuter train in Madrid, Spain’s billete único would likely take the form of a travel card that works across all 17 regions (although Catalonia’s will to handle its own public transport may exclude it from the scheme).
It is being compared to Germany’s €58 monthly Deutschlandticket, which allows citizens to use all public transport across the country’s 16 federal states, except for high-speed trains. Austria also has the ‘climate ticket’, costing €79.
A price for Spain’s potential ‘single pass’ has not yet been given, although somewhere between €30 and €49 has been suggested in the Spanish press.
Something like this already exists in Madrid, where for a currently state-subsidised price €32.80 per month you can take all public transport within the region, including Renfe commuter trains, although not medium-distance and high-speed trains. Without the discount, this ticket costs €82.
Spain’s train and bus discounts will continue to apply during the first half of 2025, but from July the discount will be reduced.
GUIDE: How to get free train tickets in Spain in 2025
The Spanish government first introduced these measures in 2022 to cushion the economic effects of inflation following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
"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.
“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, but above all helps us focus our efforts on the quality of public transport”.
The biggest challenge for Spain’s Transport Ministry may be to achieve nationwide approval for the measure, as it currently only owns the Cercanías commuter train services (Rodalies in Catalonia), as well as regional and medium and long distance trains.
The rest of the urban public transport (buses, metros, trams and even public bicycles) are managed either by the city councils or by consortiums that have agreements with regional governments.
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