The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) has published two resolutions of the Secretary of State that establish the conditions of sale and use of bus and train tickets with discounts of up to 90% that seek to facilitate young people between 18 and 30 years old, both inclusive, to travel by transport this summer, both in Spain and in Europe.
To benefit from the measure, young people from Spain or from a European Union country with legal residence in Spain, born between 1993 and 2005, must register in the form on the Mitma website to confirm that they meet the requirements and, in If applicable, obtain the personal and non-transferable code that they must use to purchase the Interrail pass and the discounted train and bus tickets on the websites of the respective operators.
Registration must be done at least 24 hours before purchasing the first ticket.
Interested parties may register through qualified electronic certificates, such as the Cl@ve system, or by entering the name and surname (as stated on the DNI or NIE), the date of birth and the DNI number, together with the date of validity, or the NIE, together with the support number of the EU Citizen Registry and nationality.
The code, made up of the DNI or NIE number and a set of characters, will be sent to the mobile phone or by email. The code is valid for the entire period and all means of transport included.
Discounts
The discounts will be applied to the price of single or return tickets that have a date for travel between June 15 and September 15, 2023.
The discounts are as follows:
- 90% discount on conventional medium-distance services and on metric-width networks.
- 50% discount on single Avant titles.
- For commercial long-distance or high-speed services from all rail operators: 50% discount, with a maximum of 30 euro per ticket.
- 90% discount for regular bus services of state competition.
- 50% discount on the Interrail Global Flexible for 10 days in 2 months, when marketed through Renfe. The discount is applied to the official Interrail rates, with their price characteristics according to age, etc.
- If the user cancels the trip, he must assume possible cancellation charges.
It is estimated that the discounts can benefit 12.5 million trips made by young people in Spain during the three months that the discounts are in force and double the sale of Interrail passes. Compensations will be settled based on the number of trips made.
The initiative, regulated by Royal Decree Law 4/2023 of May 11, contemplates financing discounts on Medium Distance rail services under the jurisdiction of the Generalitat of Catalonia, as requested by the regional government. The measure can be extended to other medium-distance services provided by Renfe under agreements or contracts with other autonomous communities.
Conditions and sanctions
The resolutions include a series of conditions to avoid inappropriate use of discounted tickets, including the possibility of sanctions. Thus, the Ministry may proceed to withdraw the Registration Code from beneficiaries who accumulate more than six detected misuses, whether in rail or road transport.
For this, the Ministry will prepare a register with the tickets used improperly, identifying the beneficiary and, once the six uses have been reached, it will be able to notify the offending person via SMS message or email that the Code is withdrawn and that they are not able to register again to benefit from this measure.
Previously, the company will warn of each improper use by SMS message to the mobile phone or registered email and of the possible consequences of its action.
The following cases are considered improper use:
The use of the Registration Code by a person other than the registered beneficiary. Not surprisingly, the Code is personal and non-transferable.
Failure to cancel a trip, or with a minimum of 24 hours notice will be considered improper use. The company may reduce this term in accordance with its usual marketing and sales practices.
In the case of state bus lines, the concessionary company may reduce this 24-hour period on short journeys in which the majority of the journeys respond to compulsory mobility. Thus, changing the ticket on this type of journey will not be considered improper use.
Booking more than one round trip per day for the same origin-destination with the same railway or bus company will be prevented, unless the trip has been previously made or cancelled.
Accessible transportation for young people
In the current situation derived from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, marked by inflationary tensions that affect, among other things, the passenger transport sector, it is necessary to adopt a public policy that makes it easier for young people to use public transport when traveling, both in Spain and in Europe, during the summer season of 2023.
This is intended to facilitate leisure trips during the summer by using a safer, more reliable, comfortable, economical and sustainable means of transport than the private vehicle. Likewise, it seeks to contribute to promoting their learning and independence and to strengthen personal relationships and the European feeling.
At the same time, it seeks to help the recovery of the tourism sector and the cultural sector in its consolidation after the pandemic, promoting national destinations and collaborating with the development of rural Spain. In this way, the historical and cultural heritage is promoted.
Interrail
Within the European framework, Interrail is a personal and non-transferable pass, which can be purchased and used by persons legally residing in Europe and which allows travel by train in 33 European countries or by boat (between Italy and Greece). With more than 50 years of existence, it has been used by millions of young people as a way to travel around Europe.
The European institutions have recognised the role of the Interrail Pass as an instrument to promote knowledge of the rest of the European Union countries for young people and, therefore, to “create Europe”.
From Spain, the Government shares the objective of the European Union and wants to make it easier for young people of Spanish nationality or from a European Union country with legal residence in Spain to access this type of travel during the summer period of 2023.
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