The Minister of Finance and Government Spokesperson, María Jesús Montero, confirmed that the free Rodalies tickets and bonuses on Renfe’s Cercanías, Rodalies and Media Distancia services will continue during 2023.
This was achieved after the General State Budget, PGE, included an expenditure item to finance this initiative by 2023. Initially, it was proposed to be effective until December 31, 2022. But it is already confirmed that Los Cercanías will continue to be free of charge.
In total, the Executive will transfer around 700 million euros to Renfe in order to advance the measure. This figure represents an increase of 41.2% of the budget received, which will be used to maintain the free Media Distancia and Cercanías service.
To date, 1.5 million free bonds have been requested and the goal is to reach 2 million in the remainder of 2022. At present, the Cercanías service in Catalonia is free of charge until the end of this year.
On the other hand, bus, metro and rail services of the Generalitat have a 30% discount on the original price until the last day of 2022.
Free Rodalies tickets will continue
Minister Montero affirmed that the free travel card will be maintained in Renfe’s Media Distancia and Cercanías passes during the next year.
He added that the initiative will become a structural policy and that he will permanently monitor the impact of the measure and the benefits in terms of sustainability and reduction of polluting emissions.
Free subscriptions at present
The free Rodalies passes began to be effective from last September 1, with an initial perspective that would go until December 31 only. Decision extended for all of 2023.
Currently, if you want to benefit from free tickets, you must first register at renfe.com or in the Renfe and Renfe Cercanías applications.
After registration, you must:
- Download the Renfe Cercanías app (available for Android or Apple).
- Select the Cercanías hub of your choice.
- Next, pull down the menu and choose the option “Buy Tickets”.
- Choose the “Buy” option and proceed to select the station of origin and usual destination.
- Right in the “Select a fare” dropdown, you can choose “Free frequent flyer pass”.
- Then you enter the data for registration, although if you already have a user in the application, you can continue the purchase process (ideally, you should register in advance).
- A QR will immediately be generated and saved in the “Buy tickets” – “My tickets” menu.
To validate the QR, you must enter the generated QR code or the 7-digit code given by the application in the vending machines. For now, it is necessary to wait for the company to specify the conditions of travel for 2023.
