Terms of use of tickets

Children under four are exempt from having a transport ticket. All other passengers need to have a valid, correct and paid ticket.

Make sure that the ticket is correct for your personal details and that it is valid for the zones where you wish to travel.

You should also validate the ticket before starting the journey and in all transfers you make, unless they are direct changes between metro lines. To help you identify whether the ticket has been correctly validated, the bus validating machines display a green light and emit a soft sound. On the other hand, when the ticket has not been validated, they display a red light and emit a loud sound. On the metro, the validating machines will not let you through the barrier if there is an error in validation. If your pass does not work as a result of a fault of the validating machines, contact a member of bus or metro staff, who will change it. Damaged cards for other causes will not give you the right to compensation nor to change it.

Finally, make sure that you keep the correctly validated ticket in good condition until the end of your journey. You should not throw it away until leaving the station, as you may be asked to show it by a member of staff.

If you need more detailed information on transport tickets or passes, go to the section “Metro and bus fares”.

With an integrated pass (not a single ticket), you can transfer up to 3 times to other integrated means of transport, over a certain period of time, set by the number of zones of the card. For single-zone passes, the time limit is 75 minutes from the first validation. This time limit increases by 15 minutes for each additional zone.

Please bear in mind that a return journey or resuming your journey after interrupting it is considered as two journeys. Therefore, fare integration does not allow you to validate your ticket twice within the same journey on the Barcelona metro (or the FGC line), nor two consecutive bus validations on the same route.

Apart from travel on which the metropolitan fare is applied, you can calculate the number of zones of the pass you need with the information about how the integrated tariff system works at the ATM website.

6-zone passes allow you to travel between all municipalities of the metropolitan transport area of Barcelona. You can see which they are on the map of zones.

What is the metropolitan fare?

The metropolitan fare is the use of transport tickets of 1 zone, for travel in public transport over 35 municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB). The metropolitan fare is applied to all integrated passes except the T-16. It is also applied to single tickets for journeys starting and finishing within the 36 municipalities forming the AMB.

How does this change affect journeys from the rest of the municipalities that fall under the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM)?

The metropolitan fare only applies to journeys on public transport that start and finish within the 36 metropolitan municipalities. Public transport journeys between any of the 36 metropolitan municipalities and any other municipalities that fall under Barcelona’s Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) require a travel pass valid for the same number of zones as before. In other words, there is no change to the fare zones of the metropolitan municipalities. Thus, no journeys taken within the area covered by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) will be adversely affected by the measure.

To which travel passes does the metropolitan fare apply?

For the metropolitan fare to apply (using a single zone ticket) for public transport journeys taken between two metropolitan municipalities, specific tickets and travel passes must be used.

The metropolitan fare applies to ATM integrated travel passes except for the T-16 card. Specifically, the metropolitan fare applies to the T-casual, T-casual for airport workers, T-grup, T-usual, T-usual for the unemployed, T-familiar, T-jove, subsidized tickets for single-parent and large families, T-dia, T-aire and T-esdeveniment.

This metropolitan fare also applies to non-integrated single tickets issued by transport operators (FGC, Rodalies de Catalunya and metropolitan and interurban buses) when they cover the route between two municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB).

The T-16 continues to be valid exclusively for the fare zone in which the named child or adolescent resides.

To which municipalities will the metropolitan fare be applied?

The metropolitan fare will apply to journeys between municipalities (with a start and finish point) that can be checked on the Zone Map.

In the metro, your validated ticket or pass is valid for the following two hours.

On the bus, the validation gives the right to travel to the end of the route in the chosen direction (except on the Bus del Barri neighborhood routes and other circular lines, in which case you can complete the entire circuit).

Multi-person passes can be used with your companions, as long as you travel together. To correctly share a multi-person pass (such as the T-grup and the T-familiar), the number of validations must match the number of people traveling together. On the metro, you should stay together for the whole journey , from the entry point station until leaving the metro premises. On buses, you may separate once on board, but the person carrying the pass must be the last one to get off the bus.

Single-person passes (such as the T-casual) cannot be used simultaneously by more than one person, but it can be used by different people at different times. For example you can use the pass in the morning and anyone you give it to can use it in the afternoon.

Personalised passes can only be used by the named holder of the card. On the front of these passes, your ID number or an equivalent document number should be indicated. You should identify yourself with the documents required whenever you are asked to show the pass. Otherwise, it is deemed that you do not have a valid transport ticket and it may be withdrawn. The most common personalised passes are the T-16, the T-jove and the T-usual.

Personalised passes of single-parent or large families (FM/FN), are special cases, because apart from the ID or equivalent of the holder, these passes should also be accompanied by the original, valid single-parent or large family card (which should be shown when a staff member requests it).

In December each year, the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM) establishes the validity period for integrated tickets and travel cards purchased during the current year.

In general, Single metro tickets and airport tickets can be used up to 31 December of the year of purchase. Integrated transport tickets are generally valid until the last day of February of the year following the date of purchase and issue. Quarterly tickets are valid until 31 March of the year following the date of purchase and issue.

In some cases (for example, if the price of tickets and travel cards is maintained for the following year), the ATM may establish a longer period of validity: until 31 December of the year following that of purchase.

In any case, you can always find up-to-date and current information on the expiry of tickets and travel cards in Frequently asked questions.

Hola Barcelona Travel Card is a 2, 3, 4 or 5 day pass that works by numbers of hours. You can validate your transport ticket at any time of day and travel for 48 hours (2 days), 72 hours (3 days), 96 hours (4 days) or 120 hours (5 days) from the first validation.

Monthly and quarterly passes (T-usual, T-grup, T-jove, etc.), have their own validity, calculated from the day of service of the first validation, meaning the first time they are used to travel.

In this respect, in order to calculate the validity of these tickets, you should remember that for the TMB bus and metro networks, the FCG urban lines and the Tram, the date of service does not coincide with the calendar day, but starts at 4.00 h and ends at 3.59 h the following day. Therefore, the days in which the service is extended after midnight, validations made between midnight and : are calculated as having been done the previous day. However, on Rodalies de Catalunya routes, the day of service coincides with the calendar day.

Monthly validity

Passes with monthly validity allow you to travel for 30 days from the first validation.

The 30 days are calculated taking into consideration the entire day of the first validation, plus the following 29 days. The pass is therefore valid until the service closes on the last day. If the metro service closes after midnight on the last day, it will be valid until 3.59 h of the following day.

Quarterly validity

Passes with quarterly validity allow you to travel for 90 days from the first validation.

The 90 days are calculated taking into consideration the entire day of the first validation, plus the following 89 days. The pass is therefore valid until the service closes on the last day. If the metro service closes after midnight on the last day, it will be valid until 3.59 h of the following day.

You can request the exchange of your ticket or travel card in the following situations:

• If the TMB metro or bus validators cannot read the magnetic stripe on the ticket or travel card, despite it being kept in good condition. In this case, you must present your ticket or travel card and you will receive another with the same characteristics: same ticket, number of zones and journeys or remaining days of validity. You can request an exchange from bus and metro staff as soon as you realise your ticket is not working properly.
• If the fares change and you have not validated the ticket or travel card even once, you can request an equivalent ticket or travel card for the new fare and hand over the ticket for the previous fare within a maximum of six months from the change of fares. In general, if the new ticket or travel card is more expensive than the old one, you must pay the difference. If it is cheaper, however, the price difference will not be refunded. This type of exchange can only be requested at Punts TMB.
• If you have purchased a travel card through a TMB sales channel and it is not what you wanted and you have not used it, it can be exchanged for another same-priced card with the features that suit you at Punts TMB. You can request this exchange within a maximum of six months from the date of purchase.

Customers are entitled to a refund on their transport ticket if they keep it in good condition, do not validate it even once and request their money back within the period allowed from the moment of purchase.

Refunds are made through the same payment method, whenever possible.

Deadlines and means of requesting a refund on transport tickets purchased through TMB sales channels:

Single bus ticket validated by bank card: generally, it cannot be refunded, as it is used at the time of purchase. Only in the event that payment is taken in error can a refund be requested. This request must be made through the complaints, claims and suggestions form. You should include as many specific details as possible, namely the last four digits of the card with which payment was made, the exact date and approximate time of purchase, the number of tickets purchased in that transaction, the bus coach number if you know it, the bus line and the bank receipt.

Single bus ticket purchased through TMB App: check the general terms and conditions for purchasing travel tickets through digital channels.

Voucher: the voucher is a document with a numerical code received after purchase entitling you to redeem it for a ticket or travel card. See the general terms and conditions for purchasing travel tickets through digital channels.

Tickets and travel cards bought at Punts TMB information and customer service offices, from ticket machines on the metro network or through the TMB App or TMB Tickets (which issue vouchers), once the vouchers have been exchanged at metro ticket machines: the refund must be requested in person at any Punt TMB within a maximum of six months from the change of fares or any other regulatory changes or established conditions. You should bring and hand over the ticket or travel card you wish to return, which must be in good condition and must not have been validated even once.

T-mobilitat tickets. The deadline to request your return is 14 calendar days from the time of purchase.

• If you have purchased them through TMB digital channels (TMB Tickets and TMB App), consult the general conditions for purchasing travel tickets through digital channels.
• If you have bought them through the ticket vending machines at metro stations, you must make the return request through the form for submitting complaints, claims and suggestions.
• If you have bought them at Punts TMB or at T-mobilitat Kioscs, you must go to any Punt TMB (except Punt TMB La Sagrera) or T-mobilitat Kiosk. It is necessary to present the id. and the purchase ticket, which contains the operation number.

Tickets and travel cards bought through the Hola Barcelona website: check the general terms and conditions for online contracting on the Hola Barcelona website.