Ministry of Transport finalises the implementation of more than 2.4 billion of European funds for the sustainable transformation of cities and municipalities

The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility is currently finalising the execution of more than 2.4 billion euros of European NextGeneration funds to carry out initiatives and work related to the sustainable transformation of mobility in urban environments with the aim of reducing emissions and promoting cleaner and safer cities.

The aid has been channelled in three ways: local administrations, regional administrations and the Ministry itself through the Directorate General for Roads. On one hand, 203 municipalities and supra-municipal groupings received 1.5 billion euros of these funds in 2022 and 2023, of which almost 700 million euros has already been invested in 492 projects that have already been implemented. Of the initial beneficiaries, 24 municipalities renounced the aid because they were unable to carry out the works within the stipulated deadlines. Consequently, as at 19 September 2025, 179 municipalities have completed or are still implementing a total of 987 sustainable mobility projects.

At the same time, in 2021, the Ministry transferred 900 million euros to the autonomous communities for direct investments in the area of their competences. The distribution of the funds was carried out in proportion to the population of each autonomous community and city, as agreed by the regional ministers and the Ministry itself at the Transport Sector Conference in November 2021. Of this allocation, the Autonomous Communities undertook sustainable mobility reforms through 182 projects, 91 of which have already been completed.

Finally, since 2021, the Ministry has been carrying out works through the General Directorate of Roads to act on different sections of state roads as they pass through municipalities and adapt them to pedestrian and cyclist traffic. Specifically, 117 million euros has been invested in crossings in 33 municipalities to build cycle lanes, pedestrian paths and other actions related to active mobility and traffic calming.

Web map of actions

For all these reasons, and within the framework of Sustainable Mobility Week, the Ministry has published a web map that visualises the actions undertaken (completed or not) by city councils, autonomous communities and the General Directorate of Roads within the framework of Component 1 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which aims to promote sustainable, safe and connected mobility in urban and metropolitan environments. This viewer has been compiled with the information provided to the Ministry by local and regional entities, so it may not include all the projects underway.

Types of actions in by city councils and autonomous communities

The funds granted to local and regional entities have been invested in different actions aimed at boosting active mobility, the promotion and digitalisation of public transport, traffic calming, the implementation of low-emission zones and the renewal and electrification of fleets.

With this, 145 million euros has been earmarked for the implementation of Low Emission Zones, both for the perimeter of the zone itself and its signage, as well as for complementary actions that contribute to its operation. These projects have been carried out in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, or with more than 20,000 inhabitants, provided that they exceed the pollution thresholds set by the European Union. In total, 80 municipalities have benefited from some of this aid.

Active mobility and traffic calming

As for the promotion of active mobility, almost 830 million euros (624 million in subsidies to municipalities and 205 million in transfers to communities) has been allocated to measures such as the construction of cycle lanes and cycling facilities, pedestrianisation and improved accessibility, and the rental and public parking of bicycles and personal mobility vehicles. In total, 153 city councils have been the beneficiaries of this budget item, most of which has focused on building at least 304 new kilometres of cycle lanes, according to the data provided by the city councils themselves. This extension reaches 391 kilometres in the case of the works carried out by the autonomous communities, as much of this cycling infrastructure has been built to connect different urban centres or green rings.

On the other hand, more than 288 million euros of European funds was allocated to 208 projects related to traffic calming: park-and-ride facilities, regulated parking, intermodality projects and improving the urban distribution of goods are some of them. These actions seek to limit and reduce the speed of vehicles entering urban areas, creating alternatives for both citizens and businesses.

Urban and intercity rail transport

Public transport also accounted for more than 550 million euros, of which almost 92 million euros was spent by local authorities and the remaining 459 million euros by the autonomous communities, which are responsible for interurban public transport services. This amount has been invested mainly in improving urban and intercity rail transport, both metro and light rail as well as trams. In total, thirteen Autonomous Communities (Andalusia, Asturias, the Canary Islands, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, Navarre, Madrid and the Basque Country) have invested this amount in electrification, the connection of underground networks, the construction and modernisation of infrastructure or the purchase of carriages for their metro and tram lines.

Another of the items to which the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility wanted to allocate the European NextGeneration funds injected into municipalities and autonomous communities was related to the electrification of the public transport fleet and the replacement of heavy goods vehicles with sustainable vehicles. For this, 203 million euros was granted as subsidies to 49 municipalities to purchase at least 837 electric buses and another 68.4 million euros to install charging points. In turn, the Ministry granted more than 67.5 million euros to five autonomous communities (the Canary Islands, the Valencian Community, Murcia, Ceuta, Melilla) to purchase 64 electric heavy-duty vehicles, as they themselves have reported.

Public transport digitisation initiatives

Finally, municipalities and regional authorities have invested 202.5 million euros of the European funds granted by the Ministry in public transport digitisation initiatives. On one hand, 34 city councils and nine autonomous communities allocated 83 and 65 million euros respectively to digitise their public transport by creating tools to improve journey planning, ticketing and payment applications, digital transport cards, information panels and smart bus shelters. In addition to these allocations, municipalities and autonomous regions earmarked more than 50 million euros to other complementary smart mobility systems more closely linked to the use of private vehicles, such as applications for available parking spaces in regulated parking areas, video surveillance, air quality monitoring, etc.

Of all these projects, 583 have already been completed (91 regional projects and 492 local projects), while a further 611 continue to be implemented until 31 December 2025, the general deadline for completing the work in progress and submitting the necessary documentation to the Ministry, which will verify the correct use of the funds granted. Once all the actions have been completed, at least 695 kilometres of cycle paths will have been built and the bus fleet of 53 municipalities will have been electrified.

These grants will therefore contribute to the objective set out in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan to reduce private traffic by 35% to help mitigate pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions, reduce noise levels, improve the quality of life in cities and facilitate the development of active mobility in urban environments.

Investments in the State Road Network

These two programmes of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan aim to promote active mobility and emissions reduction in urban environments. But they are not the only ones. Since 2021, the General Directorate of Roads has also been carrying out various projects throughout Spain to make certain stretches of state roads accessible to pedestrians and cyclists as they pass through municipalities.

As a result of this, the General Directorate of Roads has invested 117 million euros (excluding VAT) in 36 projects in 33 Spanish municipalities. Among the actions that have been carried out on the roads, the construction of cycle lanes, the widening of pavements, the construction of footbridges and pedestrian crossings, the creation of green spaces, the physical separation of roads and the narrowing of lanes stand out. Of these actions, 19 have already been completed and the remaining 17 are at an advanced stage of execution. Once the works are completed, 44 kilometres of cycle lanes and more than 102 kilometres of pedestrian routes will have been built.

The objective of this RTRP programme is to promote more sustainable and active mobility in safe conditions and to the detriment of private cars, thereby reducing emissions around cities and municipalities.

Non official translation