Minister Óscar Puente Keeps the Free Tram in Alicante for Young People in Suspense

Recent statements by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, about the renewal of free passes have created a sea of doubts in the Consell. "That policy has to change," he asserted about maintaining the discounts and free public transport on Renfe.

This statement has led the Minister of Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory, Vicente Martínez Mus, to send a letter to the minister to "request an urgent clarification" about the end of public transport discounts. For the Consell, it is important to know "if we will be alone in maintaining the discounts or not."

The central government's measure looms over the Generalitat's regional budgets, which contemplate the continuation of these discounts for young people under 30 years old on the Alicante Tram. "It is essential to know precisely the details and scope of it to make the necessary adjustments."

In this regard, from the Consell they insist that the minister clarify his intentions for next year, as the current transport aid system has a 70% discount from regional funds and the remaining 30% from the Spanish Government. If the Ministry changes its stance, the Generalitat must act quickly to continue with this measure.

Puente revealed his intentions to end free public transport during an interview on Cadena Ser's Hora 25 program, where he stressed that the measure "does not depend on me," but on "budget negotiations and other agreements with the Spanish Government."

He also pointed out that "the free pass was a temporary measure aimed at easing family finances," which -for next year- intends to be forgotten. "I believe that investment in public transport should focus on quality, comfort, frequencies..." insisting that factors that will increase users will come from guaranteeing "more quality and more reliability," far from a price that "is already quite low."

For his part, Minister Vicente Martínez Mus emphasizes in his letter to the minister that discounts have been "a key tool" to promote public transport use and ease economic burden on users. However, he criticizes Óscar Puente's "lack of clarity" regarding his roadmap, which generates "great uncertainty for both transport operators and users."

Moreover, eradicating free youth passes by the Spanish Government could "complicate budget and service planning in our Community," as Consell plans point to maintaining free youth passes on Alicante Tram and other regional services.

From the Ministry of Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory they report that a total of 488,978 cards corresponding to youth passes have been issued for those under 30 years old, with more than 66 million trips made throughout the Community. Of these, a total of 122,998 titles have been issued for Alicante Tram.

The regional discounts for Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGV), which operates TRAM d'Alacant service, will be maintained until January 31 while youth free passes will expire on December 31. Therefore, from Consell they demand that the minister "confirm if reports about ending these discounts are accurate and if so, what timelines and modalities are considered for their implementation," in order to "mitigate any negative impact on our budgets and public transport service offered to citizens."