The Minister of Infrastructure and Mobility, Ethel Vázquez, with one of the users of the ‘Xente Nova’ card.
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A total of 100,205 young people from Galicia already have the ‘Xente Nova’ card, which allows access to the interurban bus for free to those under 21 years of age. This initiative, launched by the Xunta, through the Consellería de Infraestruturas e Mobilidade, is a pioneering measure throughout Spain that is committed to sustainable mobility among the youngest. In addition, it is an important financial aid for families, who will see how the youngest can make, for free, up to 60 trips a month on the Xunta’s public transport.
The beginning of the secondary and university course has considerably increased the issuance of ‘Xente Nova’ cards, which since last May 21 allow young people to travel for free on Xunta buses throughout Galicia. This initiative of the Galician Government, in addition to betting on public transport and sustainable mobility, represents considerable savings in the family economy, since a student traveling from Ferrol to A Coruña can save 1,350 euros per year, a figure that increases , for example, if a young man from Lalín studies in Ourense. In this journey the annual saving amounts to 1,500 euros.
Young people who have the ‘Xente Nova’ card can make up to 60 trips per month on the Xunta’s public transport for free. In addition, the transfer to urban transport is also free in the cities included in the Xunta’s Metropolitan Transport Plan, as well as the boats of the Cangas-Vigo and Moaña-Vigo services and the Ferrol metropolitan train.
Currently, the province with the most ‘Xente Nova’ cards issued is A Coruña, with 55,735; followed by Pontevedra, with 34,380; Lugo, with 5,297; Ourense, with 4,539; and others, with 254.
Vigo, which refuses to join the Xunta’s Transport Plan, is the city with the highest number of cards, 9,744; followed by A Coruña, with 8,291; Ferrol, with 4,534; Santiago, with 4,184; Ames, with 3,513; Pontevedra, 3,482; Oleiros, with 3,437; and Culleredo, with 3,092.
With less than 3,000 and more than 1,000 are Narón, Arteixo, Cangas, Cambre, Lugo, Ourense, Moaña, Redondela, Marín, Carballo, Teo, Sada and Nigrán.
The metropolitan area where the ‘Xente Nova’ card is used the most is in A Coruña, which accounts for 37% of all subsidized trips for this Xunta device. In this area, until 2019, before mobility restrictions, the increase in the number of trips with this device was almost 18% since its launch.
In the Santiago and Ferrol areas, the situation was similar, with increases of 15.5% and 15.7% in free trips until 2019; meanwhile, the Vigo area closed this year with 8.9% more.
In the Pontevedra area and in the province of Ourense, the card was activated in June of last year and comparing the same period of 2020 and 2021, the Pontevedra area went from 104,000 to about 170,000 subsidized trips, which represents 63% more ; while in Ourense the registered figure practically doubled, from 33,000 to 63,000 trips.
In the five years that this device has been in operation, more than 8.7 million free trips were made on the Xunta’s public transport, which represents a saving for families of 8.8 million euros.
The forecast of the Consellería de Infraestruturas e Mobilidade is to end this year with 2.5 million subsidized trips and more than 2.75 million euros saved in Galician households.
Card application
The ‘Xente Nova’ card can be requested at the authorized Abanca offices with the DNI. In the case of minors, it must be requested by their legal representative with the ID of both and the family book or equivalent document.
Before using the card, it is necessary to charge the balance for the amount of the trips that are planned to be made. Subsequently, the Xunta de Galicia will refund the amount paid for transport directly to the card. To receive this bonus, simply insert the card at any Abanca ATM and accept the recharge. The credit for the trips made will be automatically charged to the card.
Trips made within the first fortnight of the month will be available at Abanca ATMs from the 5th of the following month. The bonuses for trips made within the second half of the month are available at Abanca ATMs from the 20th of the following month.
From the date they are made available, users will have two months to accept the bonuses.
The card can be recharged both at Abanca ATMs and at the offices authorized to issue the card. In addition, it can also be recharged with a mobile phone or with a computer at Abanca’s Mobile Banking and / or Electronic Banking. Then it will be enough to enter it in any ATM of this financial institution for the charge to take effect.
The Xunta is also working so that users can carry the ‘Xente Nova’ card directly on their mobile, and make the surcharges without having to go to an ATM.
This card is personal and non-transferable so the driver or the Transportation Inspection staff may require users to prove their age and that they are cardholders, for which they must carry and show their ID.
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