A green travel initiative in Portugal has led to a surge in rail travel, official figures show.
In October, the Portuguese government launched a €20-a-month ‘green rail pass’ (approx $21) allowing citizens unlimited travel on most services operated by the state-owned rail company Comboios de Portugal.
The pass, described by the government as an “investment in the environment”, proved immediately popular. Data shows that 30,000 were sold in the first month, with holders making more than 70,000 seat reservations. Almost half of the passes are bought by customers aged 30 or younger.
Earlier this month the Portuguese government went further. Young people up to and including 23 can now apply for their free youth pass, meaning they can travel on large swathes of Portuguese public transport free of charge, irrespective of whether or not they are still in further education, reports RailTech.com. There had been similar passes for university students beforehand, but now the offer is available to anyone in the age bracket.
A similar concept was introduced in Germany in 2022. The pass cost €49 per month - equivalent to just £1.40 ($1.60) per day and offering unlimited travel by rail, tram and bus - “to cut CO2 emissions and help people with the cost of living.”
Questions linger over the viability of the German pass - chiefly whether the government can afford to subsidise it long-term as it would cost around $14 billion per year - but it returned this year amid a drive to get more people out of their cars.
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