Barcelona residents seeking discounted public transport with the 'Tarjeta Rosa' face varying age requirements depending on their municipality of residence. The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) offers this social travel pass, also known as the T-Metropolitan card. It serves seniors, individuals with a disability of 33% or more, and their companions. Additionally, people with limited financial resources across 36 metropolitan municipalities can use it.
The scheme operates with two distinct options. The free Pink Card allows unlimited travel without cost, while the reduced Pink Card requires users to buy a T-4 card, a 10-journey ticket costing just 2.25 euros. The AMB determines which card a person receives based on their gross annual family income per person. Individuals with an income up to 9,240 euros annually qualify for the free Pink Card. Those earning up to 18,480 euros annually can obtain the reduced Pink Card.
Age Requirements Vary by Municipality
A significant factor for eligibility is the applicant's age, which varies by municipality. Some areas allow access from 60 years old, while most others require residents to be 65. Nine municipalities currently offer the card from age 60. These include Badalona, Barcelona, Castelldefels, Cornellà, L'Hospitalet, El Prat, Sant Adrià, Sant Vicenç dels Horts, and Santa Coloma de Gramenet. Viladecans is the only town where residents can apply at 61 years old. Another nine municipalities make the card available at 62. These are Esplugues, Montgat, Sant Boi, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Just Desvern, and Tiana. Residents of Gavà can access it from age 63. The majority of municipalities, 19 in total, offer the card once residents reach the official retirement age of 65.
Companion Passes and Card Usage
Companions of individuals with a disability can also apply for a companion pass. For these passes, financial resources do not factor into the eligibility criteria. If a resident obtains the reduced Pink Card, they must purchase the T-4 card separately. They can buy the T-4 at tobacconists, Metro ticket machines, and through the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and AMB Mobilitat applications. When buying, users can load up to two T-4 cards, equivalent to 20 journeys, onto their Pink Card. Each journey allows up to three transfers within 75 minutes, starting from the moment of ticket validation. This card is valid for travel on the Metro, urban and interurban buses, tram, and Catalan Government Railways. However, the Rodalies commuter rail network does not include this social travel pass, which focuses on movements within the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.
New T-Social Card for Wider Catalonia
Municipalities in the second metropolitan ring, which do not fall under the AMB's jurisdiction, have not benefited from the Pink Card for years. However, these areas will launch a new 'T-Social' card in the first quarter of 2027. The Association of Municipalities for Mobility and Urban Transport (AMTU) drives this initiative. The AMTU calculates that approximately 70,000 people across about 20 municipalities could use this new card. This pass will allow individuals who already receive social travel benefits to use a single card for travel across participating municipalities. Each municipality will decide its own economic conditions and age requirements for access, similar to the Pink Card. Next year, Granollers, Sabadell, Terrassa, Mollet, Rubí, Sant Quirze del Vallès, La Roca del Vallès, and Les Franqueses del Vallès will start offering the T-Social. Other more distant municipalities, including Igualada, Vilafranca del Penedes, Sitges, and Vic, will also join. The AMTU expects the initiative to expand further across all Catalan towns.
The introduction of the T-Social card aims to extend affordable public transport options to a broader range of residents across Catalonia. Consequently, this expansion will help standardise social travel benefits beyond the immediate Barcelona metropolitan area.
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Originally published by El Periódico Barcelona. Read original article.
