The Basque Parliament has committed to maintaining a 20% discount on public transport by 2025

The Basque Parliament has chosen to maintain a 20% discount on public transport in 2025, the bonus paid by the Basque governments, pending what the state says about the current discount of up to 50%, and in the to opt for a progressive and income-based discount system in the future.

It was Amancay Villalba, from the EH Bildu group, who brought a proposal to the Chamber to extend the 50% discounts for public transport in the Basque Autonomous Community.

Currently there is a 50% bonus, of which the state pays 30% and the Basque institutions 20%. But the Spanish government has not yet clarified whether it will extend the aid until 2025, as its validity expires on December 31, although Transport Minister Oscar Puente has indicated a willingness to maintain some of the aid.

In this situation, EH Bildu has proposed that the Basque government and the provincial councils extend the 50% discount until the whole of 2025. They would maintain the 20% discount currently financed by the Basque institutions and, in this case, would also take on the remaining 30%. the State decides not to continue this support.

PNV and PSE-EE tabled an amendment, which was approved, in favor of maintaining the 20% bonus on personalized tickets and passes. In this way, the remaining 30% would only be retained if the State so decides.

The two groups have recalled that when the decision was made to subsidize transport, after the pandemic, inflation was almost 8% and the bonus was decided to help citizens, but now it stands at 2%.

Yes, PNV, PSE-EE and EH Bildu have agreed to make a proposal for the future to accelerate the implementation of a progressive and definitive discount system based on income and use of public transport.

For its part, the PP has not proposed a fixed discount, but rather moved towards a system of progressive bonuses and discounts for frequent users, and also asked that public transport should not be based on penalizing private vehicles.

Sumar has chosen to maintain 50%, if necessary based on the funding currently provided by the Spanish government, and they have advocated increasing the discounts and bonuses that currently exist in public transport, with the aim of gradually moving towards free transportation to evolve the same.

Despite what was decided today in the Basque Parliament in favor of 20%, it is not known how much the reduction will ultimately amount to in 2025, not only because the state has not yet made a decision, but because the general assemblies of Gipuzkoa and Álava do not of Bizkaia, where PNV and PSE-EE have a majority, have asked to maintain the 50% discount in regional transport (buses).