A mother from the Spanish city of Valladolid travels 200 kilometers to Madrid every day to take her one-year-old son to daycare. Otherwise, there is no other option for them because there is no offer.
Beatriz Polo lives in Valladolid in northwestern Spain and travels almost 200 kilometers to Madrid every day with her young son. Because, according to the Spanish online news portal “El Español”, none of the childcare centers in his hometown are open before 06.30 and his family has no other choice, he has been taking his one-year-old son, Dylan, with him on high-speed trains for a year.
The mother travels 200 kilometers to daycare every day with her one-year-old son
Beatriz has worked in Madrid for 18 years and has been traveling back and forth every day for 13 years. Her husband worked shifts at Olmedo and couldn’t help in the morning. Grandparents don’t live nearby. The fact that her employer subsidizes a daycare center in Madrid is a “luck” because the costs there are very high.
The train leaves every morning at 06.23 and returns around 15.40. Dylan can ride for free because Beatriz uses a discounted commuter subscription – part of a Spanish funding program that eases the burden on commuters. “If the state removes these benefits, things will become very difficult for us,” he warned.
A move to Madrid was “completely unrealistic” financially for the family
Moving to the capital is not impossible for the family. Real estate and rent in Madrid are among the most expensive in Spain, even in surrounding areas such as Móstoles. “Buying a house in Madrid is completely unrealistic for us,” said Beatriz, who also doesn’t have a driver’s license and will increasingly rely on public transport.
Therefore, according to “El Español”, commuter associations need additional support, such as child care centers directly at the Valladolid train station. “Many elderly people move at six in the morning and need immediate care,” explains Miguel Ángel García, regional head of high-speed commuting. The association is pushing for a quick decision from the Ministry of Transportation to allow commuter subscription discounts to remain in effect.
The number of commuters in Spain has increased significantly over the years – current data shows how many employees’ lives are affected by travel, choice of means of transport and regional mobility.
5 facts about the travel situation in Spain
The number of commuters in Spain has increased significantly over the years – current data shows how many employees’ lives are affected by travel, choice of means of transport and regional mobility.
- According to the Spanish government agency for sustainable energy and mobility (IDAE), more than 40 million trips are made every day in Spain, around 60 percent of them by car.
- Spain’s Michael Page reports that the average journey time is 36 minutes – six minutes less than the European average.
- According to the Ministerio de Transportes, 21.9 percent of workers in Spain spend more than an hour commuting to work.
- According to CarrilBus, 61.3 percent of passengers use cars, while only 12.5 percent use public transportation.
- According to “El País”, around 230,000 employees moved to other regions of Spain to work in 2023 – an increase of 53.7 percent compared to the previous year.
