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Spain's new Single Transport Pass went on sale this Monday January 12, letting travellers zip around the country for a flat rate of €60. The Ministry of Transport's latest initiative officially kicks off on Sunday January 19, but you can already pick one up at sales points if you're keen to start exploring the country without breaking the bank.

 

 

The Single Travel Pass is your personal ticket to unlimited travel for 30 days on state-owned buses and a whole range of trains, including commuter services, regional trains and medium-distance routes. Some AVANT trains are included too, which is a nice bonus for longer journeys.

 

The standard price sits at €60, but there's a cracking deal for younger travellers. Anyone born on or after January 1, 2000 can grab the Youth Single Travel Pass for just €30, which is half the regular price.

You can pick up the pass from Monday January 12 at ticket offices, self-service machines or through the websites and apps of the operators, which include Renfe and various bus companies.

 

 

Here's the main thing to remember: this pass is personal and non-transferable, so you'll need to carry your DNI or NIE with you at all times when travelling. Only the cardholder can use it, no exceptions.

If you're 26 or under, there's an extra step before you buy. You'll need to register for free on the Ministry's website first to qualify for the youth discount.

 

The travel itself is unlimited, but there are some sensible rules to keep things fair. When you're travelling by bus with the Single Pass, you can only book one trip per direction each day. If your journey is particularly short, some companies might let you make two bookings on the same day, but that's at their discretion.

 

For Renfe Media Distancia trains, the regulations are a bit more specific. According to the Ministry of Transport, you can't connect consecutive trains if "the interval between departures is less than 180 minutes or less than three times the duration of the first journey, nor can you make more than four round trips with a seat reservation on the same day."

 

This is to avoid some of the disastrous behaviour displayed by passengers back when free and discounted season tickets were introduced back in 2022. Within a few weeks, Renfe was reporting a glut of ‘ghost bookings’ which resulted in regular commuters being unable to secure a seat on the train.

 

 

The Ministry isn't messing around when it comes to people taking liberties with the pass. There are clear penalties for anyone who tries to bend the rules.

 

Things that will land you in hot water include lending your pass or code to someone else, booking trips and not showing up without cancelling (you need to cancel at least 24 hours ahead for buses and 60 minutes for Medium Distance or AVANT trains), making more than one reservation per direction on the same day when you're not allowed to, taking consecutive trains without respecting the minimum waiting times, and using the youth pass if you don't actually qualify for it.

 

Get caught misusing the pass and you could face a temporary ban or cancellation of your discount code. If your pass gets blocked, you lose the money you paid and you can't get a new Single Pass for 60 days.

 

Young people who misuse the service more than 20 times will have their pass blocked and lose their discount altogether, which seems pretty fair given the savings they're already getting.

 

 

The pass covers quite a lot of ground. You can use it on regular state-run road transport, including interregional buses, as well as Renfe's Cercanías and Rodalies commuter trains and Media Distancia services.

 

The AVANT high-speed service is included on certain routes too: between Ourense and A Coruña, between Madrid and Salamanca, between Alicante and Murcia, and the Avant Express service from Barcelona to Tortosa. Just note that the Barcelona to Tarragona route isn't included, so you'll need to plan around that if you're heading that way.

 

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