Bus users who regularly journey from the likes Madrid to Guadalajara, or Santander to Barcelona, will be in line to take advantage of free travel next year, according to Spain’s Minister for Transport, Raquel Sanchez.

The country already operates a scheme whereby local and medium-distance train journeys are free for regular users, and the government has now agreed to extend that to long-distance bus travel.

The innovative plan is aimed at encouraging people to leave their cars at home and use public transport, as well as helping in the cost-of-living crisis. Among the routes included in the scheme are many from the capital Madrid and second city Barcelona, including Madrid-Segovia, Madrid-Guadalajara, Teruel-Barcelona and Santander-Bilbao-Barcelona; a total of 42 routes are involved with Raquel Sanchez expecting the changes will save over 350 million litres of petrol and prevent around one million tonnes of CO₂ being released into the atmosphere in 2023.

Regular users of these services can currently buy tickets for 10, 20 or 30 journeys at a 50 per cent discount, but next year they will be free. The offer is expected to be available for season tickets and multi-journey passes rather than one-off trips, but exact details are yet to be released.