“The gratuity in no case will be replaced by nothingit will not be in exchange for anything.” With these words, the Minister of Transport, Oscar Puentehas begun this Wednesday to give another glimpse of the Government’s plans for when they expire on December 31 aid for public transportsuch as free CercanÃas and medium-distance train passes or a discount of up to 50-60% on municipal transportation. In case there is not one extension that seems increasingly unlikelyPuente has affirmed that the free service will continue for the most vulnerable population and that there will continue to be discounts for young people and frequent users. “Free access is not going to be replaced by the helplessness of users,” he emphasized in an appearance in Congress.
“We are going to continue betting on free transportation for vulnerable groups and on bonuses for young people and establish a proportional payment system for recurring users,” he said as an alternative in the event that the Government “finally opts to eliminate free public transport.” . “It does not mean that we are not going to implement other aid policies to tickets for users,” he added.
Along these lines, the Spanish Committee of People with Disabilities (CERMI) has asked Transport to include the officially recognized disabled people among the population groups beneficiaries of reduced transport fares that can be implemented as of January 1, 2025. It also requests the same treatment for “the personal assistants of people with disabilities or in situations dependencein the performance of their assistance functions when they accompany them on their trips by public transport.
As the end of the year approaches and, with it, the end of the last extension of public transport aid that began to be implemented in 2022 to help families cope with the increase in inflation due to the crisis energy, the unknown what the Government will do starting January 1, 2025. For now, the only one who has spoken on this issue has been Puente, Minister of Transport, who a few weeks ago declared himself not “in favor” of extending more in time these free policies.
This Wednesday, he insisted on this idea, relying on data from his department that says that the recorded increase in public transport users is not “only” due to the free or discounted tickets in recent years, because they see that ““The desired transfer is not occurring” between those who use private and public transportation. For example, the former do not leave the car at home to take the subway. “That is what should concern us if we want to go to a more sustainable model, the transfer,” said Puente, who also pointed out that a private transport user does not switch to public transport because of the price, because he already pays more even without transport passes at half price. He has insisted that the bet must be, not on generalized gratuity as in recent years, but bet on quality, because there are more frequencies and a best service.
“What is the best formula to achieve that, free public transport and making an enormous economic effort to make the ticket free, betting on frequencies and quality?” he asked. “I believe more in the second,” has been answered.
Frente PP, Sumar and BNG for the rescue of the AP9
The future of public transport aid beyond the end of this year has been included in Puente’s appearance in Congress to talk about the possible transfer of management of the Galician highway AP9 to the Xuntaone of the only two that remain with a toll, and during which the PP, Sumar and the BNG have formed a common front to ask the minister to the State rescues her, something that, according to the popular ones, would have a cost of 2,355 million that would be paid by the public coffers.
Even before the PP released its figure in Congress, Puente has rejected the possibility because it is a “unaffordable” figure that the State should pay the company, Audaciouswhich has the concession until 2048 after the last extension granted by the Government of José MarÃa Aznar and without the one that would have been released, it would have become free, in 2023. For now, the Government is waiting to see what the file opened by the European Commission against this extension while he flatly rejects rescuing it, as he already did with Madrid’s radial highways, for an amount of one billion while totally rejecting a rescue.
Puente has stopped the request of the PP, Sumar and BNG argued that the rescue would be “unaffordable for the Administration and it would have harmful effects for the State.” Instead, it has opted to continue subsidizing the cost of the toll to its users and increase it according to the investiture agreement with the BNG, something that for Sumar precisely justifies the rescue and the “recovery for what public” of this infrastructure instead of continuing to pay until 2040 discounts that Puente has said save 400 million each year for the users of this highway.
“Mr. Puente, they are going to collect tolls for an amount of 9,526 million during the concession period and will be pocketing 5 billion in profits is unacceptable“he denounced Manuel Lagoby Sumar, which has opened a dance of figures in which the PP has estimated that the rescue would cost more than 2,300 euros and on which Puente has asked for “prudence” because it is “the worst thing we can do” if “on the horizon we contemplate the possibility of rescuing the concession”, so as not to give clues to what the concessionaire could claim from the State. In any case, Transport sources assure that this option is not on the table.
The BNG spokesperson, Nestor Regohas also requested the ransom and has invited the Ministry to make its own report of what it would cost the operation “so that we do not continue talking about part studies.” Their figures say that the bonuses until 2048 exceed 1,800 million and up to 3,000 if tolls are added.
“Mr. Minister, I believe that what you have said about the enormous costs of the state to finance bonuses and shadow tolls means that at this moment we are talking about the possibility of analyzing a rescue of this concession“said the PP deputy Celso Delgadowhich has taken the ‘applause’ from Sumar and BNG and Puente’s reprimandwhich has insisted that the “only culprit” for the toll continuing to exist and not being released last year was the Aznar Government, which in 2000 authorized another extension until 2048. Coupled with the probable transfer of management to the Xunta approved in the Galician Parliament, the minister has asked if the Xunta “would assume the rescue, the maintenance or intend for the Government to assume all the costs so that later they privatize it again and hit another ball“.
