European Commissions opens application round for free travel passes for 18-year-olds

Image: European Commission

Thousands of European youth became eligible for the European Commission’s free travel passes this week. The application period for the 35,000 tickets is open through April 21st. Another batch of 35,000 free passes for rail travel across the EU will be made available in October.

Those born between between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004 can now apply. The same goes for youth of the same age from so-called third countries associated with the Erasmus+ programme. These are Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey. The 18-year-olds selected can travel for up to 30 days between July 1, 2022 and June 20, 2030.

While the initiative of awarding free passes has been ongoing since 2018, this year’s awards coincide with the European Year of Youth. For this reason, the DiscoverEU action has been made a part of the Erasmus+ programme.

“DiscoverEU offers you the opportunity to participate in a travel experience that will enable you to explore Europe’s diversity, learn about its cultural heritage and history, and connect with people from all over the continent. Furthermore, DiscoverEU enables you, as a young person, to develop life skills of value to your future, such as independence, confidence, and openness to other cultures”, the stakeholders write.

To facilitate this, the selected participants will also receive a discount card in addition to their travel pass. This will mean special rates for accommodation, museums, restaurants and more.

Read more:

Author: Nick Augusteijn

Former Chief Editor of RailTech.com

Add your comment

characters remaining.

Log in through one of the following social media partners to comment.