The Más Madrid parliamentary group registered an initiative in the Assembly on Tuesday to demand that the Community adhere to the single transport subscription of 60 euros per month (30 euros for young people) promoted by the central government and which will allow travel on all Renfe Cercanías and Media Distancia trains from January 19, as well as on long-distance buses between the autonomous communities.
According to what they argue in the non-law proposal registered for debate before the Plenary Assembly, “the accession of the autonomous communities is the key to the success of this initiative” by allowing “a movement towards a true integration of the different modes and transport networks” which, in the case of the Community of Madrid, “would represent a decisive step towards a simpler, more understandable and equitable tariff system for citizens”.
This measure reproduces a German initiative (Deutschlandticket), although in this country all public transport is already included for 63 euros, that is to say also the use of the metro and tram in all cities, with the only exception that they are not valid at high speed. The royal decree in which this measure is included will be approved next Tuesday, in the Council of Ministers, but will have to be validated in Congress with the support of a majority of political parties.
“Transport is a right and national passes are a great solution to save money for those who need it most. We need a pass to make travel in Madrid and Spain easy, cheap and sustainable,” emphasized Más Madrid spokesperson in the Assembly, Manuela Bergerot.
In its initiative, Más Madrid recalls that this measure reproduces others that have already been implemented in other European countries such as Germany, Portugal or France and which “approves the viability and positive impact of this type of policies”, while various social organizations such as Greenpeace have repeatedly called for its implementation “to fight climate change and move towards fairer mobility”.
In the same spirit, Bergerot asked the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, to “stop boycotting an initiative which will make life easier for all Madrilenians and which contributes to connecting the country through public transport”. “Cheaper public transport makes us freer and helps us live on a better planet, more connected and less polluted by private transport,” he argued.
In this sense, Más Madrid asks the Assembly to urge the Community to initiate the necessary procedures for the accession of the community public transport network and to establish the necessary collaboration mechanisms with the municipalities in the region that manage urban bus services to support them in their integration into the Single State subscription model.
It also calls for informing the Madrid Assembly, within a maximum period of six months, of the actions carried out, the agreements reached and the timetable planned for the effective integration of Madrid’s public transport into this initiative, as well as to periodically evaluate the social, environmental and economic impact of the integration, “making the results public and using this evaluation for the continuous improvement of the system”.
“In the Community of Madrid, where public transport is used daily by millions of people and constitutes a central element of the economic and social life of the region, it is particularly relevant to respond positively to the call of the Spanish government. The integration of the Madrid network into the Single State Pass would make it possible to simplify the fare system, reduce economic barriers to the use of public transport and strengthen the role of Madrid as a territory committed to ecological transition and social justice,” he defends in the text.
Finally, Más Madrid recalled that this proposal was also transferred to the Congress of Deputies by Sumar in October 2024, who defended the need for an accessible, integrated and affordable public transport system throughout the territory.
For the moment, the Regional Executive has censored this measure, considering that it is an “improvised” announcement that invades the powers and that in addition, it is “50% more expensive” for young people from Madrid, since they can travel throughout the region and the areas of Castilla-La Mancha for 20 euros per month thanks to the Package agreed by the Regional Transport Consortium (CRTM), i.e. 10 euros less than what was announced by the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
According to the Community, this is “an improvised announcement which, far from improving transport, invades regional powers and generates uncertainty due to the absolute lack of technical and financial planning”. However, the Ayuso government ignores in its statements that this Single Pass also includes medium-distance trains and buses to travel from Madrid, for example, to the Basque Country, Catalonia or Andalusia.
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