On September 7 and 8, rides on EMT city buses will be free, as will trips of up to 30 minutes on Bicimad. According to the Madrid City Council, the purpose of this measure is to “promote sustainable mobility” during the first days of the new school year, which begins on Monday, September 7, for preschool and elementary school students, and on Tuesday, September 8, for middle school, high school, and vocational training students.
Free rides generally apply to all EMT buses, except for the Airport Express line. Passengers must validate their transit pass, and those without one will be provided with a free one-way ticket.
Traffic disruptions this September
In the same press release, the Madrid City Council also provided information about various traffic disruptions resulting from construction projects still underway at several locations throughout the capital. In general, the council notes that disruptions caused by the construction work“will be progressively minimized starting in September.”
While the bulk of the construction work affecting traffic in Parque Ventas has already been completed, the projects to open tunnels along the Paseo Verde del Suroeste on the A-5 and in Parque Castellana will not be finished until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, construction work on the pedestrian boulevard connecting Alcalá and Cibeles is now well underway, allowing two lanes (one in each direction) that had been closed since July to be reopened. Since Monday, August 31, that section of Alcalá Street has had three lanes in each direction (two for general traffic and one for public transportation).
In addition, the Madrid City Council has declared that the most severe traffic disruptions on the M-30 due to the renovation of the Vallecas Bridge have ended. Future lane closures on the M-30 caused by this work will be sporadic and will occur outside of rush hour during the day and from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. at night. The work is expected to be completed by mid- to late October.
The Metro network has almost fully returned to normal
Meanwhile, most sections of the Madrid Metro network that had been closed due to construction work carried out over the summer have now reopened. Service disruptions on Line 6 between Argüelles and Ciudad Universitaria, on Line 7 between Gregorio Marañón and Pitis, and on Line 9B between Arganda del Rey and Rivas Vaciamadrid have now ended, and service has returned to normal.
However, the service disruption between Cuzco and Nuevos Ministerios on Line 10 caused by renovation work at the Santiago Bernabéu stationremains in effect; the work is expected to continue through the end of the year.