From September until the end of the year, residents and visitors to Spain will be able to take advantage of free train travel, Urbantransportnews.com reports.
The Spanish government has announced a free train ride scheme to promote rail transport in the country. The scheme was approved by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and went into effect on 1 September. The program can be used until December 31, 2022.
The free ride program will be implemented through the application of the national rail network Renfe. The passenger needs to indicate the destination and make a deposit, which is 10 euros for suburban lines and 20 euros for trips for medium distances (less than 300 kilometers). The resulting QR code will serve as a ticket. Tickets can also be purchased at railway stations.
The passenger will be able to return the deposit made at the end of the year. To do this, you must fulfill the only condition – to make at least 16 trips to the specified destination.
Not only residents of Spain, but also tourists can use the service. To do this, they must register using their passport number.
Travel directions are selected based on the area of the specified station. For example, if the original station is Madrid or Barcelona, then, according to the program, the ticket holder will be able to use free travel within a radius of 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the city.
The initiative was designed to mitigate the effects of the cost of living crisis, as well as reduce the country’s carbon footprint by encouraging people to switch from their private cars to public transport.