“This measure aims to promote public transport and reduce the use of private vehicles and will contribute to reducing our energy dependence and our carbon footprint.” This is how Renfe, the Spanish state railway company, explains the unprecedented measure of zeroing the cost of some tickets in the country.
Free tickets will be available from next Wednesday (24), and the measure will be valid for the last four months of the year. Behind Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s announcement is obviously the energy crisis caused by the War in Ukraine – even though Spain is among the European Union countries that least depend on Russian gas, the bloc has set a target of reducing imports of the product and an embargo on the purchase of oil from Moscow.
Kindness also has among its reasons other factors directly and indirectly linked to the conflict: low wages and inflation. “I am fully aware of the daily difficulties of the majority of the population. I know that the salary is getting less and less, that it is difficult to get to the end of the month, that the shopping list is getting more and more expensive. Spanish ruler.
The measure was celebrated in the country, seen as more correct than the 20 cents (R$ 1.05) reduction in the price of gasoline announced in the first half. But some sectors are predicting chaos on the train lines, as this is what happened in Germany at the beginning of the summer. There, the government set a monthly ticket at €9 (R$42) with no limit on travel and there was at least one moment when the police were called to remove people from the wagons.
In Spain, the free tickets are the medium-distance ones, valid for up to about 300 km, and the so-called “cercanÃas”, which connect nearby cities and outskirts to the city centre. Discounts are aimed at those who make recurring trips. It is necessary to choose the departure and arrival stations and deposit a guarantee of € 20 (R$ 105). If the traveler makes 16 of these trips during the four months, he will receive the bail back — the same goes for trips in the “nearby”, with the difference that the amount withheld there is €10.
There is one more measure to encourage Spaniards to leave their car at home in the coming months. Between August and September, public transport within cities, such as subways and buses, will receive a 30% discount. The government announced an expenditure of €221 million to finance this measure.
Five major cities (Madrid, Cordoba, Palma, Bilbao and Vitoria) will increase the benefit to 50%, at their own expense. Fares will be valid for multiple tickets only. The price of gasoline in Spain, which was €1.60 on average before the war, peaked at €2.30 in June and is now at €1.80.
While Spain prepares for this public transport party, Germany finishes its own. Also due to inflation that is eating up the population’s salary on several essential items, especially gasoline, the German government launched monthly train tickets at €9 this summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
After two and a half months, the program is considered a success in the country. Around 21 million people (no less than a quarter of Germany’s population) bought summer tickets as early as June. So far, 38 million tickets have been sold, in addition to 10 million subscription users who have used the offer. The service ends at the end of this month.
But, as the German tabloids predicted, the “€9 chaos” ensued. In June, a Munich train driver refused to leave when his car looked like a can of canned sardines. After passengers refused to leave the train, he called the police; further refusals, and agents forcibly removed people. Police did not reveal how many people were evacuated to the Abendzeitung newspaper.
There were still canceled connections and many delays. However, as the months passed, things seem to have settled down. In the end, German newspapers are calling the measure a success — the government has yet to issue an official assessment — but one that needs to be tweaked to improve.
This week’s New York Times report on a tourist line showed that travel was smooth. “It helps too much [a passagem por € 9]. It gives people a chance to get away for a bit. And who can pay the price of gasoline these days?”, retired Bärbel Hell told the American daily, traveling from Sylt, on the Danish border, to Hamburg. Annual inflation in the euro zone in July reached 8.9 %.
In neighboring Austria, the government has chosen to give the bulls a more direct name: the “climate ticket” is designed to encourage adherence by calling for a reduction in car exhaust pollution. The KlimaTicket, launched at the end of 2021, is for any public transport in the country, including subways, buses and trains, although there are restrictions for some tourist destinations.
But it is not cheap at first glance: it is sold only with an annual validity, at a price of €1,095 (R$ 5,750). The calculation was to charge € 3 per day (R$ 16), divided by the 365 for the year.
Even so, the demand was so great that it almost brought down the official page when it was launched. “It is with KlimaTicket that we will achieve together the commitments of the Paris Agreement”, says the website.
