The buses of the Municipal Transport Company (EMT Madrid) will once again be free, except for the airport express line, this Monday and Tuesday, coinciding with the start of school activity after the Christmas holidays.

As reported by the Consistory, from 00.00 hours on Monday until 23.59 on Tuesday, traveling on any of the municipal buses will be free. As on previous occasions, users must validate their ticket and, if they do not have it, the driver will provide them with a single ticket free of charge.

This free day is in addition to the 50 that the Madrid City Council has carried out since 2021 in 17 different periods and which have benefited more than ten million travelers.

The City Council launched the measure after the passage of storm Filomena in 2021, and that same year it was activated from September 1 to 15 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. to act on rush hour on public transport. Subsequently, in November, it was recovered as an incentive during 'Black Friday'.

In 2022, free admission was activated on 10 and 11 January. Subsequently, on April 19 and 20, after the Easter holidays. Two months later, coinciding with the NATO Summit, on 28, 29 and 30 June, buses were once again free and, in September, the measure was implemented twice: on the 1st and on the 7th and 8th to accompany the return to work and schools.

It also continued to be activated on other occasions, such as the return of the Constitution long weekend in December. In the last year this decision has been taken on six occasions coinciding with the return of the Christmas and Easter holidays, 'Black Friday' and again after the long weekend of the Constitution.

The criteria for activating free travel include days identified with a high level of traffic or during episodes of high pollution.

So far, the local administration has borne the cost of the measures through the EMT. However, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, said a few weeks ago that being "realistic", the public coffers cannot sustain free public transport and would need the Government of Spain to "establish a line of funds" that "allows to sustain the accounts of the Municipal Transport Company", in order to continue offering a service at no cost.

  • Transport & Tourism