Catalan Comuns Secure 50% Transport Pass Discount for Pyrenees Residents

Catalan parliament members from the Comuns group have successfully preserved a 50% discount on regional transport passes issued by the Generalitat, delivering a key win for residents in the Alt Pirineu and Aran regions.

The measure ensures affordable bus and train travel to cities like Lleida and Barcelona remains accessible for workers, students, elderly people, and families handling essential trips for jobs, healthcare, education, or family visits. In these rural areas, long distances, scattered populations, and limited public transport options already drive up travel costs compared to metropolitan zones. Local leaders emphasise that the discount represents territorial justice rather than a privilege, particularly given the below-average purchasing power in the region.

Without it, many households would face steeper expenses, potentially pushing users away from public transport and towards private vehicles where feasible. Supporters argue this policy bolsters social equity and sustainability by encouraging collective transport use, cutting emissions, and protecting the fragile natural environment of the Pyrenees. They position the area as a potential model for blending social rights, territorial cohesion, and ecological transition.

Campaigners, however, call for further improvements. They highlight the need to expand on-demand transport services with higher frequencies and broader coverage, vital in ageing communities with small, dispersed villages where not everyone owns a car. Access to basics like shopping, doctors, or hospitals should not rely solely on private vehicles.

The Comuns have pledged to champion these mobility priorities during upcoming Generalitat budget negotiations, insisting that living in the Pyrenees must not mean fewer rights. "Mobility is a right," they state, underscoring the push for better movement across all territories.