Long-distance buses will be free from this Wednesday for regular travelers

With a cost of 27.

Long-distance buses will be free from this Wednesday for regular travelers

With a cost of 27.3 million for the State during the first half of the year

MADRID, 1 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

This Wednesday, February 1, 2023, the free state bus routes for frequent travelers who provide a minimum deposit of 20 euros will come into force, which will be returned if a minimum of 12 trips are made during the next three months.

The operation will be similar to the measure that has been applied to the Renfe Cercanías and Media Distancia trains since September last year, after the approval by the Government of the financing for the companies to offer these new free travel tickets.

As detailed by the Spanish Confederation of Bus Transport (Confebús), travelers must contact the transport company or the usual sales channel to obtain a unique code and purchase the multi-trip ticket for the recurring route.

Next, they must pay for this title an amount as a deposit, which will be refunded if the established recurrence is reached. Specifically, 20 euros for bills of up to 5 euros, 35 euros for those between 5 and 13 euros, 50 euros for those between 13 and 25 euros and 65 euros for those over 25 euros.

These titles will be valid for four months, except for the first one, which will be three months, since it begins in February and will expire in April, a period during which 12 trips or more will have to be made. In the periods from May to August and from September to December, you will have to travel more than 16 times on the specific route for which the ticket was purchased, valid only for one person.

In the event that travelers have obtained the multi-trip ticket with a credit card, the refund will be made within a maximum period of one month and automatically by the concessionary company, without prior request by the user, to the credit card with which the degree was obtained, once the quarter or four-month period has finished.

For tickets obtained with payment in cash, the refund of the amount advanced as a deposit must be requested by the traveler at the ticket office, customer service office or any other after-sales service enabled for this purpose by the concessionary company, within a period of time no more than two months from the end of the validity period of the multi-trip ticket.

The Government will allocate 27.3 million euros during the first half of the year to finance this free passenger transport by bus on state lines. They will be complemented by 50% discounts on regional transport, which will cost the State 380 million euros, and free Renfe, with another close to 700 million euros.

Among the companies that will offer these tickets is Alsa, which hopes to encourage the use of public transport in regular trips and promote the transition towards a more sustainable and safe mobility that contributes to the reduction of emissions.

Among Alsa's most popular routes are those from Bilbao-Madrid, Granada-Madrid, Valladolid-Madrid, Burgos-Madrid, León-Madrid, Asturias-Madrid, Valencia-Barcelona, ​​Alicante-Madrid, and from Zaragoza to Madrid and Barcelona, among other.

Thanks to this measure, the mobility company has highlighted that, in the next three months, a person could travel for free on the occasion of carnivals, Valentine's Day, the San José bridge, Easter, even the departure of the bridge on 1 May, always for regular passengers.

NEXT NEWS