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Spain slashes bus fares by 22% on dozens of national routes
The new 34-corridor network to serve 30 million passengers across 1,682 towns in Spain
On the very day petrol and diesel prices are going up, the government has announced the welcome news that bus travel across Spain is set to get cheaper, greener and better connected, with the Ministry of Transport kicking off a public consultation on a major overhaul of the national road passenger network.
The new system promises an average 22% reduction in fares, bringing the average price down to around €0.06715 per passenger per kilometre. It will cover 1,682 municipalities and serve around 30 million people across a network of 34 corridors, using a more modern, less polluting fleet of buses.
Secretary of State for Transport José Antonio Santano explained that existing bus stops will be kept, with new direct routes added between medium-sized and large cities to make journeys faster. The plan is open for public comment for 30 days before final approval, expected before the end of 2026.
New concessions will last between seven and ten years and will be put out to tender progressively within two years of the map being finalised.
Three corridors have already been approved by the Council of Ministers:
- Castro-Urdiales to Bilbao – approved November 2025, currently in the bidding process
- Madrid to Zaragoza to Catalonia – approved April 21, 2026
- Madrid to Valencia – approved May 5, 2026
The remaining 31 corridors are now out for public consultation. For expats in the Murcia and Alicante regions, a couple of these routes are particularly worth noting:
- Valencia – Alicante – Murcia
- Santander – Zaragoza – Murcia
- Murcia – Granada – Seville
- Murcia – Almería
- Madrid – Albacete – Alicante
The Ministry will also set aside €8.6 million a year to subsidise ten corridors that wouldn't be commercially viable on their own, making sure rural communities aren't left behind.
The full list of the remaining 31 corridors out for consultation includes:
- Madrid – Toledo – Badajoz
- Pontevedra – Salamanca – San Sebastián – Barcelona
- Santiago de Compostela – Santander – Bilbao – Barcelona
- Madrid – Toledo – Ciudad Real
- Madrid – Toledo
- Santander – Zaragoza – Murcia
- Madrid – Seville – Huelva
- Madrid – Granada – Almería
- Barcelona – Lleida – Huesca
- Teruel – Castellón – Barcelona
- Madrid – Ciudad Real – Jaén
- Logroño – Soria – Madrid
- Valencia – Alicante – Murcia
- Seville – Malaga – Barcelona
- Asturias – León – Madrid
- Murcia – Granada – Seville
- Madrid – Albacete – Alicante
- A Coruña – Salamanca – Seville
- San Sebastián – Pontevedra
- Burgos – Soria – Zaragoza
- Madrid – Burgos – San Sebastián
- Badajoz – Seville – Cordoba
- Madrid – Guadalajara
- Madrid – Ávila – Cáceres
- Murcia – Almería
- Madrid – Ciudad Real
- Madrid – Malaga – Cadiz
- Madrid – Segovia
- Huelva – Barcelona
- Madrid – Salamanca – Pontevedra
- Madrid – Pamplona.
