Young Summer programme exceeds 2.5 million train and bus journeys in 2026

The Young Summer 2026 programme, promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, has exceeded 2.5 million train and bus journeys during the first phase of the campaign. Between 1 July and 10 August, exactly 2,514,021 journeys were made with discounts of up to 90% for young people aged between 18 and 30.

In just over a month since its launch, 1,941,632 young people have registered to benefit from discounts on their summer travel. The discounts will be available for journeys taking place up to 30 September 2026, both within Spain and for international travel using the Interrail pass sold through Renfe.

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has allocated an investment of nearly €130 million to this fourth edition. This amount covers the discounts applied to single and return train and bus tickets, as well as the Interrail Global Flexible pass included in the programme.

Who can benefit from the Young Summer 2026 programme

In the 2026 edition, the programme is open to young people of Spanish or foreign nationality who are legally resident in Spain and were born between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2008. Discounted journeys must take place between 1 July and 30 September this year.

The programme offers different discounts depending on the type of transport and service used. On state-regulated regular bus services, the discount is as high as 90%. The same percentage applies to conventional medium-distance services and trains on the metre-gauge network.

On Avant single tickets, the discount is 50%. A 50% discount also applies, up to a maximum of €30 per ticket, to commercial long-distance or high-speed services operated by all railway companies.

The programme also includes a 50% discount on the 10 days in 2 months Interrail Global Flexible pass, provided it is sold through Renfe. The discount is calculated on Interrail’s official fares, with the applicable pricing conditions depending on the traveller’s age and the terms of the pass.

How to apply for the discounts

To use the discounts, applicants must first register on the Young Summer website of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. Registration must be completed using the applicant’s DNI or NIE.

Once eligibility has been verified, the beneficiary receives a personal, non-transferable code. This code must be used to buy train and bus tickets, as well as the discounted Interrail pass, on the respective operators’ websites.

A programme designed to promote public transport

The Young Summer programme was launched in 2023 to facilitate travel for young people and encourage the use of collective public land transport. The initiative aims to help reduce the use of private vehicles and, consequently, emissions and the accident rate associated with road travel.

The Ministry also states that the programme helps bring trains and buses closer to young people in order to encourage the arrival of new passengers. In addition to facilitating leisure travel, the initiative aims to promote the personal development of its beneficiaries by allowing them to discover new places and cultures and strengthen their social relationships.

The programme also has an impact on the tourism and cultural sectors, as well as on rural areas of Spain. Collective public transport is presented as a more inclusive and socially fair option, and as a significant tool for advancing climate objectives.

How the programme has evolved since 2023

The first three editions of the Young Summer programme saw growing uptake. In 2025, the record number of journeys was reached, with 6,873,417 train and bus journeys between 1 July and 30 September. This figure was 30% higher than in the 2024 edition.

The 2025 edition also closed with the highest number of users to date: 1,553,358 young people aged between 18 and 30, 10% more than the previous year.

In 2024, a total of 1,393,309 travellers made 5,187,557 journeys. In the first edition, held in 2023, around 1,131,445 young people used the programme to make 3,998,816 journeys.

Overall, the first three editions enabled 4,078,142 young people to make 16,059,790 journeys during the summer period. With the 2026 scheme, the Ministry is maintaining its commitment to encouraging travel by collective public transport, both rail and road, within Spain and to other European destinations.

Examples of savings for travellers

As well as encouraging the use of public transport, the programme helps reduce the cost of summer travel. According to last year’s data, the average discount applied to each single bus ticket was approximately €24.5.

Based on this figure, a group of six friends aged between 19 and 20 travelling to the beach by bus could save around €294 in total. The calculation is based on the average discount recorded on tickets the previous year.

On high-speed rail services, the average discount per one-way ticket reached €18. Thus, a couple aged 29 taking a return trip to explore Spain’s cultural heritage could save an average of €72 on each complete journey.

On medium-distance trains, the average discount was around €10 per single ticket. For a group of four 24-year-olds, a return journey would represent an average saving of approximately €80 thanks to the Young Summer programme.

Finally, the average discount applied to the 10-day Interrail Global Flexible pass is around €168. Thus, two young people aged 20 and 27 could save more than €300 on a ten-day trip around Europe by using the programme’s discounts.

The fourth edition remains open for journeys taking place up to 30 September 2026, provided travellers meet the established requirements and use the personal code obtained during registration.