Long-distance buses in Spain, free to use in 2023

The special measure for multi-pass users expands from trains to public road transport

Following a political agreement in support of the general budget, the Spanish government has announced that the subsidy measure that grants free train trips in 2023 will also be expanded to include the state-owned long-distance bus lines. That means, that from 1 January, regular travellers holding multiple-ticket passes will ride for free.

In fact, this represents an upgrade on the already existing measure which allowed a 50% discount on bus trips, which was in effect since 1 September.

With that, the Spanish authorities are affirming their commitment to helping local commuters by easing the burden of inflation on their pockets. Plus, the aim is also to make public transport much more attractive to use and thus lower CO2 emissions as a consequence.

Public transport back in fashion

With the start of 2023, passengers holding passes or tickets for 10, 20 or 30 trips will get a 100% discount on the price of their commute. These will be available for the state-owned lines, like the ones linking Madrid and Segovia, Guadalajara and Madrid, Teruel and Barcelona, ​​Zaragoza and Castellón de la Plana, Jaén and Madrid, Gijón and León, Irún and Tui or Logroño and Soria

According to data from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, at the beginning of 2022, the network had a total of 4,088 stops that are distributed among 2,399 towns belonging to 1,837 municipalities of the national geography. The total length of lines is 68,861 kilometres, with an average of 894.3 kilometres per concession.

The same Ministry had also indicated that it expected the free train rides measure to prevent the emissions of 1 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere next year. And that estimate is sure to grow drastically with the addition of the free bus option.