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Only people living in Madrid will be able to renew their personal travel pass
Madrid is changing the rules for access to the personal travel pass. From 15 June, only people who can prove residence or registration in the Community of Madrid or in municipalities with a transport agreement may apply for or renew the Personal Public Transport Card.
The measure affects the personal card that allows holders to load travel passes such as the 30-day pass or the youth pass. Until now, many people could obtain it by providing basic documentation and an address; from the entry into force of the change, it will be necessary to prove a residential link with the territory covered by the Consorcio Regional de Transportes.
The change will not be retroactive. Those who already have a valid personal card will be able to continue using it normally while it remains valid. The problem will come when they need to apply for a new one, renew it or process certain changes that require proof of the updated requirements.
The Comunidad de Madrid maintains that the measure seeks to regulate access to discounted passes and give priority to those who live in the region. The official argument is economic: Madrid public transport is financed to a large extent by the regional government and the municipalities integrated into the system.
The impact may be felt particularly by students from other regions, workers who commute to Madrid without being registered there and migrants who have difficulty proving residence. For them, losing access to the personal card may substantially increase the cost of daily travel.
The most sensitive case is the youth pass, which allows travel throughout the network at a very low price. Those unable to renew the card will have to resort to single tickets, ten-journey passes or other less advantageous fares, an important difference for people who travel every day for study or work.
The measure comes at a time when public transport remains key to daily life in Madrid. Metro, buses, Cercanías, Metro Ligero and interurban services support the mobility of millions of people and connect neighbourhoods, universities, workplaces and municipalities in the metropolitan area.
The question now will be practical: if they are registered residents, they will need to have the documentation ready; if not, they will have to check whether their municipality has an agreement or look for alternatives. The change turns an everyday procedure into a new administrative frontier for getting around Madrid.