Ministry of Transport launches free public transport for children under 15 and discounts of between 40% and 70% for the rest of users

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has published the resolutions with the new fares that will be applied to state-owned public transport from 1 July, the date on which the new discounts on urban and interurban public transport co-financed by the Ministry also come into force in the autonomous communities and local authorities that request them.

These fares to encourage the use of public transport are included in Royal Decree-Law 1/2025 of 28 January, which extended until 30 June the discounts in force in 2024 for regular travellers and established a new system of public transport subsidies for the second half of 2025.

In general terms, a single Cercanías (commuter railway service) ticket will be available for all areas and centres in Spain for 20 euros per month, free travel on all public transport for children under 15, special discounts for young people, lower fares for other frequent users and new aid to promote the use of bicycles as a means of daily transport.

Similarly, state-owned bus services will have discounts of between 40% and 70% depending on the age and type of season ticket purchased. Tickets for 10 journeys will be discounted by 40% and the monthly pass by 50% for the general public, 70% for young people between 15 and 26 years old and 100% for children under 15 years old.

With regard to urban and interurban regional and local transport, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility will finance free travel for children under 15 years of age and a 50% discount for youth travel cards, with each administration defining the corresponding age bracket. For all other tickets except tourist, single and return tickets, a discount of at least 40% is promoted, which must be co-financed by the beneficiary to the tune of at least 20%. In addition, a 50% rebate is available on recurrent subscriptions for bicycle hire systems, also co-financed by 20% by the local or regional authority.

Renfe Cercanías Fares

Firstly, a single ticket is being introduced for Cercanías services for all areas and centres in Spain, which is divided into three categories depending on age:

• For those over 26 years of age, a nominative monthly pass, valid from the first use within 10 days after purchase. The fee for this subscription will be 20 euros per month.
• For young people born between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2010 (aged 15 to 26) with Spanish nationality or foreign nationality and legal residence in Spain, a monthly travel pass, valid for one month from its first effective use. The fee for this travel pass will be 10 euros per month.
• For children under 15 years of age (born between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2025) with Spanish nationality or foreign nationality and legal residence in Spain, a six-monthly, nominative travel pass, at no cost, valid throughout 2025.

In addition, a ticket for 10 multi-person journeys in Cercanías zones and areas is being introduced with a 40% discount, valid for use during the year following the date of its first effective use, always before 31 December 2025.

Renfe Fares - Conventional Medium Distance

Conventional medium-distance season tickets shall be as follows:

• For those over 26 years of age, a nominative monthly pass with a 40% discount, valid for one month from their first effective use.
• For young people born between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2010 (aged between 15 and 26) with Spanish or foreign nationality and legal residence in Spain, a monthly season ticket with a 50% discount on the monthly cost, valid for one month from its first effective use.
• For children under 15 years of age (born between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2025) with Spanish nationality or foreign nationality with legal residence in Spain, a six-monthly, nominative season ticket, at no cost, valid until the end of 2025.

In addition, multi-person season tickets for 10 journeys on Media Distancia Convencional (Conventional Medium Distance) will have a 40% discount, and will be valid during the year following the date of their first effective use, which must be prior to 31 December 2025. This discount will also be applied on AVANT services between Madrid-Salamanca, as well as on the AVANT service between A Coruña-Ourense and on the Murcia-Alicante service via the high performance network (Red de Altas Prestaciones), in both cases at all places of origin and intermediate destinations. They may also be used on the AVANT EXPRÉS service from Barcelona to Tortosa, excluding the origin destination Barcelona-Tarragona.

Renfe - Avant Fares

Avant passes will continue to offer a 50% discount until the end of the year, with the exception of AVANT Public Service Offer tickets, to which the above-mentioned conventional medium-distance discount applies. The tickets available are:

• Tarjeta Plus season ticket (30-50): valid for three months and usable until 31 January 2026.
• Tarjeta Plus 10 Normal: these travel cards are valid for 30 days and can be used until 31 January 2026.
• Tarjeta Plus 10-45: these are valid for 45 days and can be used until 31 January 2026.

Once these discounts have been applied to the season tickets, the only other additional discount applicable will be the large family discount. In the case of the 10-journey season ticket, this discount will be applied if the season ticket holder fulfils this condition and it is only used by him/her and the members of his/her large family. The season ticket code and the associated ticket must be identified as being issued to large family beneficiaries.

Inter-regional bus fares

In the case of state-owned interregional buses or VACs, four new multi-ride tickets will be marketed with the following denomination and scope:

• Multi-person 10 journey pass, with a single origin and destination. It shall be discounted by 40% and may be used during the year following the date of its first effective use, which must be before 31 December 2025.
• Nominative monthly pass with a single origin and destination and unlimited journeys for 30 days from the first effective use, for people over 26 years of age. The purchase price will be the equivalent of 20 single tickets at a 50% discount.
• Youth travel card and unlimited journeys for 30 days from its first effective use, with a single origin and destination, for young people between 15 and 26 years of age (born between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2010) with Spanish or foreign nationality and legal residence in Spain. The purchase price will be the equivalent of 20 single tickets at a 70% discount.
• Children's travel card (under 15 years of age) nominative with a single origin and destination for an unlimited number of journeys to be made during 2025. Beneficiaries will be those born between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2025 with Spanish nationality or foreign nationality with legal residence in Spain. There will be no cost to the user.

Young people and children wishing to take advantage of these discounts must register via the website of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. The link for registration, as well as the instructions to follow to obtain it, will be made available in the coming days.

New fares for urban and inter-urban transport

In parallel to this aid, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has launched a 355 million euro package that will finance the new subsidy scheme for urban and interurban public transport in the second half of 2025 for all autonomous communities and local authorities that have applied for it.

This new scheme provides for different discounts depending on the type of user in order to encourage the use of more sustainable and efficient daily mobility alternatives. The three types of discounts are:

• Free of charge for children under 15 years of age.
• 50% reduction in the price of youth season tickets and youth multi-journey tickets. Each administration will define the age bracket that is considered young for this type of discount.
• Reduction of at least 40% on the rest of the season tickets and multi-journey tickets. The Ministry will finance 20% of the discounts provided that the competent local authorities or autonomous communities commit to finance an additional 20% discount from their own budgets.

Excluded from this discount scheme are single tickets, return tickets and tourist tickets.

In the particular case of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, an additional 183 million euros have been made available to maintain free public transport throughout 2025, in response to the fact that they are islands and to give effect to the principle of solidarity recognised in the Spanish Constitution.

In addition, the Ministry of Transport has activated another 10 million euro package to co-finance a 50% discount on recurrent season tickets for bicycle hire systems. To this end, the Ministry of Transport assumes 30% of the subsidy while the autonomous community or local authority assumes the remaining 20%.

Non official translation