Unified nationwide public transport tickets could arrive in 2026

Barcelona metropolitan area has been using a unified public transport ticket since January 2001. With one single ticket, transport users can travel on different metro lines, buses, Rodalies commuter trains, and tramways, to say a few.

The system has been in place for over two decades and continues to expand with the use of the T-Mobilitat contactless ticketing system across Catalonia.

The Spanish government is preparing to launch a similar system across the country, with a unified nationwide public transport ticket.

Óscar Puente, Spain's transport minister, announced on Thursday that the measure could be ready in 2026, allowing a "better spending of public finance, improve comfortability among users, but also adding more resources to the public transport quality," he said during a speech in the Nueva Economía Fórum talks.

He said the "challenge" ahead is implementing a public transport ticketing system in 2026 that mirrors the system in Germany, which has "its pros and cons."

Hours later, Laia Bonet, Barcelona's deputy mayor and president of the public transport authority, welcomed the proposal.

"All those elements that help the public transport are more than welcome," she told journalists during a press conference in the Catalan capital.

"We will await further details regarding this proposal," she added.

Puente set next year as the rolling phase year after public transport subsidies disappear during the last months of 2025. So far, the Spanish government will only help pay for tickets until June this year. Meanwhile, the Catalan government will continue to partially subsidise tickets throughout the year.