There are three months left for the free passes to travel by medium-distance and suburban trains or the 50% discounts for long distances for frequent travelers to expire and, if the decision depended solely on the Minister of Transport It would not be extended beyond December 31. Oscar Puente has been in favor this Monday of not repeating a measure resulting from the need to help families weather inflation due to the energy crisis and, instead, of introducing other measures that are not universal in nature, that benefit the citizens more. passengers who take the train the most or depending on income.
“I can anticipate that my position is that this policy must change“Puente said in an interview in Hour 25, in response to the question of whether free train passes will be extended. As he has said, it is a decision that not only depends on him but he has pointed out that “the policy of free public transport has been temporary, to alleviate family economies and the commitment to public transport must be in quality, in frequencies, that is where the effort must be made.”
Regarding the alternative that may exist from January to free train passes, he has pointed out several formulas, such as a bonus that depends on the number of trips, that in the case of truly recurring ones it can be similar to the current gratuity, or linking them to social bondsfor vulnerable households.
Transport credit discounts
Before the end of the year, Transport and the Government in general have before them the decision to extend public transport aid such as free passes for medium and long distance trains or discounts on transport passes, in which the Executive contributed 30% as long as the communities reduced at least another 20%. At the moment, the Government still has not decided what it will do with this measure, whether it will be “reformulated”, whether it will continue as before or whether it will be eliminated.
Regarding this last issue, transport passes such as those in Madrid or Barcelona, ​​Transport sources indicate that there is still no decision made on whether there will be a new extension, but Puente has also made it clear that here Their commitment is to improve the quality of service so that the user does not mind paying a little more for their ticket. “If the bus user who pays 0.36 euros to use it is told 0.70 but with better service features, he will surely say that he prefers it,” he stated.
“I am one of those who believe that we are going to gain users on public transport, not depending on the price of the ticketwhich is already quite small, especially compared to the private vehicle, but if we love the user more quality and frequencies“added the minister.
High speed prices “are going to rise”
Also speaking of prices, Puente has predicted that High-speed ticket prices will end up rising because none of the three operators, Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo, It can continue to endure losses like those of the last year for years, which amount to a negative 230 million.
“In the medium and long term it is unsustainable, it is “bread for today and hunger for tomorrow”said Puente. “Prices are going to rise,” he noted before recalling that before liberalization Renfe had a surplus of more than 100 million that it could invest in loss-making or less competitive lines and that it is something that with losses it will no longer be able to continue doing. In the same way, has doubted that Ouigo can continue to record losses “all its life”“despite the support of the French State through the French ‘renfe’, the SCNF, and it is not something that Iryo’s private shareholders can allow.
Competition and competition for low prices, he added“it has lowered our prices for a while but it will not last and the system is going to suffer.”
