With the arrival of September, we assume that summer is almost over and the precious holidays are over. We go back to work, the “back to school” arrives and the big cities have again that movement of people and traffic that have so much evokes the usual routine which dissipates during the summer season.
If we look at places like Madrid, this contrast in attendance between August and September becomes more acute, this ninth month of the year being the time to start again and resume the usual rhythm of the city. If something characterizes the capital, it is its frantic coming and going on the streets and highways which, upon returning from vacation, seems more eventful than ever.
For this reason and taking into account the significant increase in travel in different types of transport in Madrid, the City Council has decided save a measure which has already been used in similar situations: allowing free travel on the buses of the Municipal Transport Company (EMT).
The initiative is carried out with the aim of promoting sustainable mobility in addition to favoring the flow of travelers in public transport on the dates marked by the Increase in travel to Madrid for the return to routine after the summer.
Dates when it is free to travel on EMT buses
As announced by the Madrid City Council on its social networks, several days are selected for the free use of municipal buses. Today are, Monday September 2nd and September 9th and 10th of the same month, also Monday and Tuesday. This applies from midnight to 23:59 every day.
During these days, anyone with a regular transport ticket will be able to travel on all EMT lines. The only exception This is the airport express line, which is not included in the measurement.
How to travel for free on EMT buses?
To benefit from this service, you will not have to do anything special, simply get on the bus of your choice and validate your title transport as usual. For those who do not have it, they must ask the driver a single ticket for which you will not have to paybut it is necessary to remove it in order to have records and control of passengers who use municipal buses.
As we anticipated, this is not the first time that the Madrid City Council has launched this type of initiative. Specifically, since January 2021, the free ETM bus service has been repeated in most cases where a large flow of people was expected in the city, such as around Christmas or “Black Friday”, when returning from the Easter holidays or, the reason that triggered the idea, after the Filomena storm where many cars were stuck by the snow.
Since then, it has been recorded that more than 52.7 million passengers have taken advantage of free bus travel on certain dates, including 11.19 million who were not regular users of this type of transport.
The City Hall also emphasizes that in addition to making travel more comfortable and faster for users, these measures support the search for better air quality, since they are also implemented during episodes of high pollution.
