The deposit will be refunded to them from January 9, and to receive the bonus for the next four months, 230,000 people have already signed up.
Nearly 2.5 million people used a free Cercanías and Media Distancia pass between September 1 and December 31, 2022, as well as Avant at 50%. Specifically, Renfe issued 2.44 million of these passes, mainly for Cercanías trains, which accounted for 72% of the total, with 1.63 million passes issued.
Renfe data shows that the remaining 665,000 passes (28%) were for Media Distancia routes (formerly called regional trains). In addition to the free subscriptions for repeat customers, Renfe has sold nearly 92,000 tickets with a 50% discount from Avant for use on fast medium-haul services.
The return of the deposit of 10 or 20 euros (depending on whether the subscription was for Cercanías or Media Distancia) that users paid in September to benefit from free transport for four months will start on January 9. Reimbursement is made automatically on the credit card used by the user to pay for the season ticket, while those who have paid in cash can request a refund at the station counters from 15 January.
The refund will be received by the users who have traveled with these trains at least 16 times in the four months that the measure has been extended in this first phase. And Renfe will penalize users who fraudulently used the measure by reserving seats they later did not use, with a non-return of the deposit – in addition to the ban on getting a new one-month subscription. A few days ago, the operator reported that it had already sanctioned 70 users for this reason.
Transport Minister Raquel Sánchez calculated that the savings for a family of four will be €1,800 in Madrid, €2,200 in Barcelona or €3,000 in Valencia. In a meeting with the press, he assured that this measure is “historic and unprecedented” with the aim of encouraging citizens to bet on public transport in the fight against climate change.
Now begins the second phase of these free subscriptions that will be valid throughout 2023. Cercanías and Media Distancia trains remain free for returning users, as does the 50% discount on medium-haul high-speed avants, which are extended to thirteen new destinations with AVE trains: Madrid-Palencia, Madrid-Zamora, León-Valladolid, León- Palencia, Burgos-Madrid, Burgos-Valladolid, Ourense-Zamora, Palencia-Valladolid, Huesca-Zaragoza, León-Segovia, Segovia-Zamora , Palencia-Segovia and Medina del Campo High Speed-Zamora.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
