Cantabria allocates 3.7 million to compensate for the road transport deficit

The Governing Council of Cantabria has declared 27 concessional bus lines as public service obligations and will allocate 3,687,776.35 euros to compensate the deficit of the concessionaires during the 2025 financial year. The decision is formalized in Decree 77/2026, of October 29, published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria no. 212, of November 4, 2026, in section 6 on Grants and Aid (official reference CVE-2026-8575).

Cantabria’s public road transport network is considered a public service owned by the autonomous community and is provided indirectly through a concessional system. The decree is based on Article 16 of the Cantabria Law 1/2014, of November 17, on Road Passenger Transport, and Article 22.2 c) of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Law on Subsidies, to proceed with direct award as competitive bidding was non-existent.

The text itself acknowledges that the contracts for the concessional lines are in a state of tacit extension in accordance with Royal Decree 1211/1990. Added to this, as causes of the imbalance, are COVID, the increase in the CPI and energy prices, the free nature of commuter trains, and discounts for frequent travelers, which have caused “considerable variability” in both operating costs and traveler habits. Since 2023, annual compensation decrees have been published due to the risk of service interruption caused by the legal abandonment of the companies.

Twenty-seven lines declared and twenty-three compensable

Article 1 declares the provision of regular road passenger services, for general and permanent use, under the competence of the Government of Cantabria, as public service obligations. The list covers 27 concessional lines, from K1 (Cabezón de la Sal-Comillas) to K53 (Santoña-Somo-Santander), and includes routes such as Santander-Reinosa (K8), Unquera-Santander-Castro Urdiales (K48), Santander-Maoño (K25), or La Lomba-Reinosa-Las Rozas (K7).

Annex II specifies the subsidizable limits per line for 23 services, distributed among nine operators:

• Transportes Terrestres Cántabros, S. A.: K48, €1,175,844.88; K8, €1,122,711.58; K50, €126,781.13; K46, €120,497.21; K4, €73,144.48; K20, €49,004.97; K25, €36,691.67; K39, €33,966.65; K9, €26,431.71.
• Autobuses Palomera, S. A.: K49, €192,963.47; K53, €183,412.91; K45, €40,050.62.
• Autotour Aranda Calderón, S. L.: K29, €141,402.81; K32, €64,397.53.
• Mavi Muñoz, S. L.: K51, €57,172.44; K52, €34,944.78; K30, €5,608.95.
• Autobuses La Cantábrica de Comillas, S. A.: K41, €47,175.71; K42, €21,522.74.
• Autobuses Juan Ruiz, S. L.: K23, €48,341.63.
• Lorenzo Casanova y Hermanos, S. L.: K43, €37,445.81.
• Autocares N.R. Ruiz, S. A.: K28, €36,031.45.
• Autocares Donato, S. L.: K7, €12,231.22.

Financing, term and expenditure control

The financing is charged to application 04.04.453C.471.03 of the General Budgets of the Autonomous Community for 2026. The calculation is based on the 2022 cost study updated with the CPI that served as the basis for Decree 182/2023, of November 23, and on the 2025 collection and subsidy data from the General Directorate of Transport and Communications; furthermore, the amounts are limited by the amount of Decree 78/2025, of November 13, updated with the CPI.

Applications, according to the model in Annex I, must be submitted within fifteen days from the publication of the decree in the BOC, together with the 2025 analytical accounting verified by an auditor registered in the ROAC in accordance with Order PRE/907/2014, of May 29, and certificates of being up to date with the Tax Agency, the Cantabrian Tax Administration Agency, and Social Security. The subsidy will be paid in a single installment. The authority to grant it is decentralized to the head of the Ministry of Development, Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment, Roberto Media Sainz, who also assumes the powers of verification and, where applicable, reimbursement.

Beneficiaries receiving aid of at least 100,000 euros must publish the remuneration and compensation of their administrative bodies, in application of article 28.6 of the Cantabria Law 1/2018, of March 21, on Transparency of Public Activity. The decree also details the regime for revocation, reimbursement with late payment interest, and sanctions.

Repeal of previous decrees

The sole repealing provision nullifies Decree 182/2023, of November 23, and Decree 78/2025, of November 13, which regulated the 2022 and 2024 compensations. Regulation (EC) 1370/2007 on public passenger transport services applies as a supplementary regime. The decree enters into force on the day following its publication, that is, November 5, 2026, and appears signed in Santander on October 29 by the president of the Governing Council, María José Sáenz de Buruaga Gómez, and by the Minister of Public Works.

The regulation directly affects intercity transport users, who maintain the offer of lines in a context of expired concessions, and the nine companies operating those routes, whose margins depend on a compensation that is renewed every year. The amount, nearly 3.7 million euros, consolidates an extraordinary financing mechanism that already totals four consecutive fiscal years and remains pending the tender of the concessions.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 212, of November 4, 2026, section 6 (Subsidies and Grants), page 56391 (official reference: CVE-2026-8575).