Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Canary Islands free transport for 2027 hangs in the balance
The future of free public transport in the Canary Islands in 2027 is up in the air. The Canary Islands government has called on the central government to guarantee its continuation through the extension decree, which has yet to be approved and which, following the calling of elections, must now be processed by the Permanent Deputation.
Warning of uncertainty over the 100% discount
The Director General of Transport and Mobility, María Fernández, has warned that the situation is creating uncertainty, and has indicated that if the decree does not go ahead after 29 November, the Canary Islands could be left without the 100% discount that allows regular users to travel free of charge on land-based public transport.
Fernández has argued that the extension is possible because it does not amount to a new measure, but rather the continuation of a policy that is already in force, and has called for it to be processed “in due time and form”. Meanwhile, the Canary Islands government remains awaiting the corresponding budget allocations and for the State to set out the framework that will allow the free fares to be maintained throughout 2027.
Could the Canary Islands fund free transport itself?
The request to the State also opens up the debate over the extent to which the Canary Islands could shoulder the cost of maintaining free transport using its own funds. The regional government holds powers over much of the management of land transport and could establish or fund discounts with its own resources, although maintaining the current 100% free fares would mean taking on a cost that has so far been largely covered through state funding. The current model relies precisely on contributions from the State to compensate authorities and operators for the free transport scheme.
Guaranteed only until the end of the year
Free transport was only guaranteed by the State until the end of the year, as set out in the text of the Sustainable Mobility Law in a provision stating that, before 31 January 2026, the Canary Islands government had to certify the effective implementation of the 100% discount, with a commitment to maintain it until 31 December of that same year, according to the statement.
Talks over inclusion in the national transport pass
As for the inclusion of the Canary Islands in the single national transport pass, the central government has proposed a bilateral meeting to sign a protocol that accommodates the archipelago’s particular circumstances within that transport ticket, according to the press release. “The door is opening for the Canary Islands to be part of it and not be left out,” said the director general, who believes the Canary Islands Resident Pass could have a place within the single national transport pass.
Last September, the Directorate General of Transport and Mobility of the Canary Islands government sent a letter to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility expressing its concern about the single pass model published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), which brought together a set of jurisdictional characteristics that left the Canary Islands out. “We are going to open a bilateral table where we can bring our jurisdictional particularities closer to the model published in the BOE,” Fernández explained. Among these are the financing model, the conditions and mechanisms for compensating authorities and operators, and the way in which the participation of the various competent transport authorities in the Canary Islands would be structured.
Single transport ticket across the archipelago
On the planned single transport ticket for the Canary Islands, which will allow travel across the entire archipelago by bus or tram with a single transport pass, the statement notes that it is being developed and is close to coming into operation. The Directorate General of Transport and Mobility of the Canary Islands government has allocated a budget to the island councils so that they can adapt their technology and integrate this new application that will make the single Canary Islands ticket a reality.
The next step will be to issue a public call so that members of the public who meet the requirements can experience the pilot technology first-hand and move easily between several islands with their single Canary Islands ticket in December.
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